- there are pictures of me on my first birthday sitting in a mickey and minnie mouse high chair, wearing a 101 dalmatians party hat and eating a piece of (what looks to be) oreo flavored cake
- my fifth birthday, we had a party. i was most excited for my papa to come. what i wanted most was a baby alive doll. i got one. i also got a toy dirt devil vacuum, a playschool cassette player with a microphone, and a school teacher barbie. i took papa aside during the party to tell him my exciting news that i learned how to take showers all by myself and i no longer took baby baths. he congratulated me.
- my next party was for my seventh birthday. we lived with brete at the time. i invited a lot of kids from school and they all came. my grandy even came. my mom served shrimp for the adults and let me choose all the food for me and my guests. i served a giant five foot long sandwich, a bowl of marshmallows, pickles, and a ton of candy and chips. we had a water balloon fight. i wore my too-big tye dye shirt that hung off my shoulder and had my stuffed monkey conga in my hands the whole party. what i wanted most was a go cart, which all my grandparents chipped in to get me. but my favorite gift ended up being from jennifer. it was a bag containing an old bridesmaid dress of hers, along with the matching shoes, headpiece, and play jewelry and makeup. i died and went to heaven. it was a good birthday.
- grandy died four days before my eleventh birthday. her funeral was on my birthday. we were still staying at grandy's house, sorting through everything. to celebrate, my mom took me to walmart (the only store in town) and let me shop for ingredients for candy sushi (fruit rolls ups, marshmallow creme, swedish fish, rice crispies, various candy) and pick out a gift. i chose a hilary duff cd. we went home and i made the candy sushi by myself and watched hocus pocus on the disney channel. it started a string of very bad, sad, almost ignored birthdays.
- in high school, when i turned 16, lorri made sure to make my birthday as lovely as it could be. she made her friends bring me balloons, gifts, and treats. jessica brought me a giant red velvet cupcake. ms. hyatt played me happy birthday on a wooden music box in art class. i was a spectacle all day long and i felt loved, seen, and special.
- there was a birthday in my early twenties that my dad showed up. he was living on the streets. he was emaciated and using. we went to dinner and i couldn't help myself from inviting him. it was a nice italian restaurant and it was so sad. he felt out of place and i felt embarrassed and guilty. there's a picture from dinner and i can't look at him in it, even now.
- another birthday in my early twenties, my mom was living with us and got drunk and my dad showed up again. the evening turned into a crying fest of my mom and dad competing to talk about who was a worse parent and my mom talking about herself and him. i was frustrated and i think i went to bed early.
apr 26 2020 ∞
aug 29 2020 +
aug 29 2020 +