Jericho is obsessed with birthdays. He didn’t have a proper party until his 3rd birthday. We adopted him at 28 months and decided to make a big deal of his big day. Now that I think of it I don’t know what kid isn’t over the moon about birthdays, nevertheless we’ve had a great time celebrating our little one. In fact, when we first became a family in Uganda he would sing the birthday song over and over again. He loved it.
In the fall of 2013 the internet decided to torture us with the viral video “What Does the Fox Say?” Jericho LOVED that blasted song and decided it would make the perfect birthday theme for him and his friends. He had simple demands such as fox cupcakes and chocolate milk. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. After arranging his cupcakes, treats, fox masks, and removing anything from my house I thought a 0-3 year old might break I hung tissue paper rosettes from my ceiling and packed dollar store trinkets in black and white striped bags for all the kinder party goers.
After the party he proudly wore his mask and danced away to his favorite jam.
This past year he chose to represent his state and city well by theming his birthday after our beloved Seattle Seahawks. In the last year he would walk around the house yelling “SEA!” and to which Derek or I would answer, “HAWKS!” With all the hub bub of the Hawks winning the Super Bowl last year he knew he wanted to paint the town blue and green. Luckily, a friend from work had leftover Seahawks gear from her own son’s birthday party. I happily took the supplies off her hands. It was kind of wonderful to spend next to nothing on supplies and host it somewhere besides my house. I had Kingston just six weeks before his birthday so I was not about to have my house overrun by tiny children. I left the cleaning and entertainment to the good people at the children’s museum.
As folks started to arrive in their Hawks gear Jericho was elated to see his friends. He was even more in awe of his cake covered in skittles. (If you aren’t sure of the connection between skittles and the Seahawks go ahead and google that after you’re done here.) It was precious to see how little ones celebrate each other by singing, dancing, and “helping” open gifts. The crescendo of the afternoon was of course the jovial “Happy Birthday” song. We sing it most everyday at home since it’s his favorite song. I’ve blown out more fake candles on fake cakes than I ever knew possible. When the real thing came he was smiling ear to ear and let loose on those candles.
I love birthdays. To celebrate someone’s life, someone’s story, fills me with a deep sense of awe. Birthdays stand as a marker in a collection of moments that invite celebration of a life lived and life yet to live. In Jericho’s eyes birthdays are only celebrated well with cake, candles, and friends. I like that. Of all the things he’ll say he learned from his mama, I hope he says, “I know how to celebrate people, to celebrate their lives not for what they have accomplished, but simply because they exist.” His birthdays may require skittles and chocolate milk but what matters most is always there, friends of our tribe and cake, always cake.
