Friday, May 26, 2006
Page 15
AT THE SIDEBAR (Column)
The Birthday That Never Ends
By J’AMY PACHECO
Normally, birthdays go like this: you celebrate, and then you move on until the next one.
In my family, normal is not the usual procedure.
My daughter turned 10 on February 7. That was a school night, so we kept the celebration small – dinner out with a few friends, and a homemade cake.
We had a tough time coming up with a date that all of her best friends were free, so we put off her birthday party for a few weeks. The weekend immediately after her birthday, we celebrated with a special dinner out.
We ended up having her actual birthday party on March 5, almost a month after she’d actually turned 10. Two weeks later, we were scheduled to celebrate her birthday yet another time, with her grandparents during a weekend at the Disney Resort.
Unfortunately, foul weather and poor health got in the way, and the weekend had to be rescheduled. The next weekend that all parties and the resort were available at the same time was not until May 20.
So last Saturday, when my daughter had actually been 10 for three months and 13 days (more or less), we drove to Anaheim, pasted a “Happy Birthday” sticker to the front of her shirt, and proceeded to celebrate her birthday yet again.
At first, we thought it might turn out to be one of “those” weekends. We’d purchased a multi-day pass for my husband from a local warehouse store, only to discover too late that the document they’d provided should have been traded for a different ticket at the store. My husband had to leave the resort, find a branch of the store near Anaheim, and correct the mistake. Grrr.
The parking structure for the resort was so backed up that it took Grandma and Grandpa almost an hour to get in, park, and meet us. By the time they got in, the lines into the park stretched halfway to San Diego.
But once we made it inside, lots of people got into the spirit. Complete strangers wished my little girl a happy birthday. When we attended a class where we learned to draw Mickey Mouse, the instructor surprised her by presenting her with his own signed drawing inscribed with a “happy birthday” message.
When we toured the small tortilla factory at California Adventure, each of us received a warm flour tortilla fresh off the production line. But when she headed for the exit, my daughter was presented with a whole bag of tortillas for her birthday. No toy could have made her happier.
At the hotel, we were happy to learn we would all be in the same building, and on the same floor. Happiness turned to amazement and delight when we discovered we had been assigned adjoining rooms — something my daughter had always wanted but had never been able to get. I’d never seen anybody so thrilled to be able to run through an open door. It felt positively magical.
It felt the same way when we left the park for the last time Saturday night and decided to ride the monorail to the hotel. Somebody saw the birthday sticker, and we got to ride in the front with the driver. It was an amazing experience, zooming along the narrow track with nothing but window between us and the nighttime sky. My daughter held her teddy bear up so he could see out. She couldn’t stop smiling.
Sunday morning, we rose early, went swimming, and spent about an hour piloting toy boats around a lagoon at the hotel. We said our goodbyes to the grandparents, checked out and took the birthday girl back to the theme parks.
We dragged her reluctant father in to see a stage production of “Aladdin.” We raced in moments before it was to start, and ended up with our backs to a wide aisle in the orchestra section.
Midway through the show, Aladdin himself came riding through the auditorium on a life-size (but fake) elephant. It was spectacular, but my daughter was disappointed that our seats made it impossible for him to see her waving.
Until, that is, his elephant turned a corner. Aladdin spied her holding up her teddy bear and waving. Aladdin smiled, waved back at the bear, and then spotted the birthday sticker.
“Hey!” he said, pointing at her. “Happy birthday!” The audience laughed uproariously as my daughter looked at me in utter amazement.
It was the best.
That was the last thing we did Sunday, and the last time we’ll be celebrating her 10th birthday. It’s been a good three months, but it’s time to move on.
After all, birthday number 11 is just around the corner…
Copyright 2006, Metropolitan News Company