Wednesday, January 1, 2020

A Birthday Party


I haven’t had many birthday parties. What I had were birthday celebrations, dinners, the like. Mostly just with family. But actual parties? None that I haven't thrown myself.

My first that I remember was in Timmins. I was in my early grades at Pinecrest, but after I’d been held back, because I remember that it was those boys who came: Larry and Tony and Leslie and Mark. David Miller, too. David was my neighbour, my first friend in Timmins.

I was excited. I’d never had a party where school friends were in attendance. In fact, I can’t remember my ever having a birthday party before, at all. So, excited is an understatement. I was bouncing off the walls. I would check the street about every minute or so, regardless how much time remained until the guests were set to arrive.

In time, they did. I recall not being sure what my role was. Host? My mother certainly instructed me to greet all my guests at the door. Man of the hour? Prince? I think my mother may have told me I was the host of the party, but I would not have understood what that meant, at that age. What did a host do? They entertained their guests, my mother said. Me, entertain them? I thought it was my day. Wasn’t it?

I can’t say what was for dinner. Hot dogs? Most likely. I was a kid, not terribly fond of most meats at the time, so hot dogs must have been on the menu (in later years, the standard was meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas; how that came about I'm not sure; I suppose it was deemed my favourite meal, and it came to be a tradition; but my favourite meal was spaghetti and meatballs, but I suppose that might have been deemed either too messy, or too pedestrian for a birthday celebration). There was cake. Of course there was cake. That’s what a wound-up kid needs, more sugar.

I was a bit of a tyrant, I think. Actually, I know I was a bit of a tyrant. I wanted to be the center of attention. I wanted to play with every toy. I took toys away from the other kids. I had a tantrum. My mother was having none of it.
She demanded that I behave. She demanded that I let my guests play with the toys, too. I had a fit. They were my toys!

I ended up getting a spanking and being sent to my room for a time.
Did I deserve it? You bet I did.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Death Comes to Pemberley

  Jane Austen’s works are quite beloved, so beloved by some, that certain writers and readers alike just can’t get enough of them, even th...