When she turned 2, the cat caught on fire. No, really – the aptly named ‘Trouble’ jumped up on the table, brushed his tail through the candles on his cake, and poof! Chaos ensued. She’s not sure that she really remembers it, but because her father has told the story so many times, the images he has created for her are vivid in her mind as if it just happened yesterday.
When he turned 5, his mother took him and a few of his kindergarten friends to the local Chuck E Cheese’s. But his mother hadn’t anticipated how much the large animated singing characters would scare him. Especially Mr. Munch, the pizza eating monster. He spent half of his birthday crying in her lap.
When she turned 7, her parents surprised her with her very first art set. It came with paintbrushes, watercolors, and endless dreams and possibilities.
When he turned 9, his parents bought him a skateboard. And helmet too of course, which was certainly a good thing, because he took his new present outside that afternoon and promptly wiped out on the sidewalk. He got to enjoy his cake in the waiting room of the Emergency Room. And received 12 stitches in his right forearm as an additional birthday present that day.
When she turned 12, she was allowed to invite 3 friends over for a sleepover. She reluctantly gave in to her little sister’s pleas to be included with the older girls for a night of braided hair, painted fingernails, and girl talk. Penny managed to fit in pretty well, until she realized that she shouldn’t have eaten so much cake and proceeded to lose her stomach contents all over the stairs. That was the last time she was allowed to hang out with the “big girls” for quite some time.
When he turned 15, he and his buddies skipped their morning classes and went out for breakfast to celebrate. His principal did not take pity on him just because it was his birthday. Neither did his mother.
When she turned 16, she didn’t want all the fuss and brouhaha of a “Sweet Sixteen.” So she and several of her closest friends spent her 16th birthday having a quiet night at a local bowling alley. And it was one of her favorite birthdays ever.
When he turned 21, his brothers took him out to the bar for 21 shots. He made it to 8. Pete has never let him live that down.
When she turned 21, she decided to try her first alcoholic beverage. Roy didn’t understand why she was always refusing to drink with him, but she didn’t like how he got when he was drunk, and she was scared that she too would be a sloppy and out of control drunk. She decided her 21st was a good and meaningful time to try alcohol once, just to see what the fuss was about.
When she turned 22, she drank so much that she passed out on her friend’s floor and had to be carried home.
When he turned 24, he had just started a new job and didn’t want to make a big fuss at work. Especially since he had already gotten to see Michael Scott and the party-planning committee in action on Oscar’s birthday. He didn’t even bother to tell his roommate, although it didn’t matter since he was out of town anyways. So he celebrated alone in front of the TV with a pizza and beer.
When she turned 26, she didn’t expect anything fancy from Roy. They had already talked about how they needed to save their money for the wedding that was less than 3 months away. Still, she admits that deep down she was disappointed that his idea of an acceptable but affordable birthday dinner was carry-out Taco Bell and a six-pack.
When he turned 26, he made a promise to himself that this year of his lie would be different; he had to find a way stop living in the past. He asked Karen out the next day.
When she turned 28, Jim took her to the fanciest Italian restaurant in town. They delighted in all her favorite foods – eggplant parmesan, garlic bread sticks, a bottle of merlot. She secretly wondered if this was the night when he might propose, and found that a part of her was slightly disappointed when he didn’t. But she still smiled at the thought that it would probably happen soon, and when it did, it would kick her ass.
When he turned 28, Pam drove back from New York to surprise him and take him out for a special birthday feast of his own. They never made it to the restaurant that night.
When she turned 30, Jim brought her breakfast in bed. As she snuggled up beside him, nibbling on her homemade French toast, baby Cecelia sleeping peacefully in between them, she couldn’t imagine that life could get any better than this.
When he turned 30, well, that hasn’t happened yet…but when it does, he can’t imagine anyone he’d rather spend it with than his amazing wife and their beautiful daughter. And he’s certain that it’ll be his best birthday yet.
Story Notes:
Happy birthday month, NanReg!
AtTheStars455 is the author of 0 other stories.
This story is a favorite of 3 members. Members who liked Days Go By also liked 1000 other stories.
This story is part of the series, let?s celebrate birthday month in style today.. The previous story in the series is Legacy.
