Birthdays

 Along with the holidays and celebrations that are right around the corner, our season of birthdays kicks off this month. We start on October 31st with John's birthday, take a break for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and pick right back up on December 30th with Ida's birthday. Then, on January 5th, Asa's birthday brings weeks of festivities to an end. Whew! I didn't plan it that way, and I always thought spreading parties throughout the year would be quite nice. (I mean, who doesn't like a pool party?)

When Ida turned two, we lived in a neighborhood filled with little girls close in age. We were quickly introduced to what birthday parties were like--the complete opposite of my childhood celebrations. Renting a cool (read: expensive) party space, handing out goodie bags to guests, and activities galore seemed like a lot. 

My childhood birthdays were much simpler. We got to choose both the dinner and the flavor of our cake! Back then, an orange box cake was definitely at the top of my list --my, how my tastes have changed! I remember often choosing Mom's meatloaf or porkchop and potato bake for dinner. It was a family-of-four celebration each year, except for my sixth birthday when I had a party under the maple tree in our yard. I loved birthdays when I was little, so when I became a mom, my children got to choose their cake and dinner too.

Admittedly, I did go above and beyond that tradition, though. Once they were old enough, my children also got to choose the theme for their party, and often it was something not available in stores. That's when I began my love of all things Etsy, and if I couldn't find it there, in stepped Tom. He often saved the day creating party supplies. My favorite was the year he made Ida and her two friends fancy hats that they wore to the Tea Tavern, but he also pulled off both a Nutcracker and a Hamilton birthday. There were all kinds of themes over the years: Mickey Mouse, Skylanders, American Girl, Winter One-derland, Nancy Drew (one of my favorites), swimming, and more. 

Besides his creative contributions, Tom had a few traditions of his own. When our children were little, he would take the birthday child out on a Daddy date, which gave me plenty of time to set up the party so that they would walk in the door to an Etsy wonderland. He also started the doughnuts-for-breakfast on their birthdays. I'm not a fan of more sugar and junky ingredients, but they all loved it, and it was a special Daddy thing. 

Birthdays have changed in recent years. John spent his last five in the pool, followed by going out to eat. Despite Ida's living hours away, we still get to celebrate with her, since the ballet company is always on break until the new year. Even my youngest passed on the themed birthday last year and chose to take a few friends to an escape room instead. But the cake flavor and the dinner (minus John's swim team years) remain intact. I love that my mom started that over fifty years ago and it continues today, spanning the generations. Now that's a tradition!