There are days where an overwhelmingly joyful feeling happens due to one of your kids. That was my feeling on my daughter's twelfth birthday.
This had been a super busy week for the family with many activities before and after school piled on with the never-ending load of homework. My daughter had been stressing all week about getting her homework done so I was pretty sure she was going to have either a miserable or just okay birthday. I was happily surprised when I heard over and over that evening how "this was my best birthday ever".
I asked my daughter why she thought this and I was surprised by how many simple acts throughout the day had led to this conclusion.
The morning announcements always list off the birthdays of the day, so that was the first glimpse of excitement for her. Then she felt that her teacher was extra excited about her birthday and cheerfully led the class in the birthday song. The song was song to her several more times during the school day and many people came up to her to wish her a happy birthday. Either she didn't remember from years past, or this happened a bit more this time than before. Either way, it was a boost to her spirits on an otherwise tiresome, long week.
My daughter had made a special request for a sack lunch on her birthday. It specifically had to include a butterfly shaped PB&J, a fruit smoothie, and a brownie. I aim to please and was up early in the morning to get all things prepared including baking the brownies from our favorite THRIVE Life brownie mix. "Make the gooey ones with powdered sugar on top" I was told.
After school, I allowed her to bring four friends home to do an activity and have some cake. This was in addition to her Mystery Party the week before. We had gotten a chocolate Halloween village on clearance the day before and each kid was able to decorate the house of their choice. Then they all got to eat some rainbow cake. The colorful cake was a huge success as even the kids who don't eat cake liked it! The kids finished off their after school shindig with some dancing to The Fox and Cha Cha Slide before heading outside to play before parents picked them up.
The next part of the night involved swimming...for the third time this week. The little sister had swim lessons so my older two kids got to play in the pool for a while.
My daughter had requested my "famous Chicken Enchiladas" for dinner but it turned out we didn't have chicken in the freezer as I had originally thought. So, we went to Olive Garden instead. This was no disappointment as she loved her meal and I was flattered by some praise from my kids. Even though we were out to eat, they were all raving about my home cooking skills and that I should open a restaurant. They named their favorite meals and how I just throw things together and it magically turns out to be something super yummy (IE. my Bison Stew/Soup earlier this week). It was very nice to hear as I don't think I'm a bad cook, but I'm certainly no chef. The happy birthday was also turning into a wonderful day for myself!
The night ended with my daughter still raving about how great of a day it was. She had been so worried about the hectic week, that it was comforting to hear her happiness with the day. To me it seemed like a series of small, happy moments. To her it was the best birthday ever.
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