Anna was in Idaho when her birthday arrived, but this was a special year. Not only was she able to celebrate her birthday with Grandma and Pop Pop, but as soon as she arrived in Florida, she could start looking forward to enjoying a day with her dad--another day of favorite things to eat, another day of pretty packages to open.She called earlier Thursday afternoon. Pop Pop was sitting in the TV room, and Jack was watching a DVD. Pop Pop fell asleep.
The phone rang. Anna was so excited to tell me about her birthday party she had today, and she promised to call back, but today was my son-in-law's day with Anna. I refused to interrupt their fun, but tomorrow is another day, and I will get a chance to talk to her about the fun she had in Florida.
The first thing she did in Idaho was open her giant card. She loves the Hello Kitty thing, and this card was no exception. She slept with it that night.
In my almost 58 years, I never remember sleeping with a birthday card. I had this stuffed monkey once that was as big as I was as a four or five-year-old, and he sometimes was a partner. Maybe it was guilt from thumping on the thing all day. For hours, I would hit that chimp in the plastic face and pretend to fight it.
Until I tried to think of any toys I connected with as a child, I'd forgotten it. There was this large stuffed dog too. I rode it like a horse, although the think was set lying down. But it was big. I rode it as if there was a saddle on it.
What is there about toys that a human being would suddenly remember it after a 50 year absence.
Anna loved the wrapping paper on each gift, and she studied it carefully before opening it, but once she started, it was like a shark in a feeding frenzy.
The ripping of paper happened quickly, yet I didn't notice it. Anna's smiles rendered me unable to notice anything. I watched her reaction to see if Grandma and Pop Pop did well during our shopping spree.
It happened so quickly, everything seemed to be in a blur. But what is there to notice about individual packaging. The main point was that the paper was Anna's favorite color--pink.
Only purple and light green and sometimes yellow are acceptable.
So far, Grandma and Pop Pop have been very lucky. We've chosen the right colors when we bought things for Anna. Not only does she wear them willingly, but she also likes to model them for us when we visit.
And what's a party with Hello Kitty stuff without a stuffed Hello Kitty doll? Anna loved it, and she smiled even wider when Pop Pop told her it was a Hello Doggy Doll.
"Nooooo," she said. Her voice was gentle but firm and assertive. Then she would laugh her Anna laugh, full of passion and joy--almost to the point of being hysterical.
When I took Jack to the movies after returning from taking Lydia and the kids to the airport, it was difficult watching the movie we went to that evening. I missed the laughs of my three grandchildren.
Jack usually shows his enjoyment, but he was still sad from saying good-bye hours earlier. He laughed occasionally and just smiled. I kept wishing I could hear Tommy and Anna's laughs in the dark theater. But that will be for another visit, either when they're here in Idaho Falls or when we're in Florida.
This last gift in the picture above is a lunchbox for school; it appeared to be Anna's favorite. She immediately began carrying it, the strap over her shoulder like a woman would tote her purse.
And as I describe Anna's lunchbox, I realize just now the picture I wanted to get before Lydia and the kids left for home this last Saturday. Anna had a plastic purse with little things she carried in it: typical things a little girl would place in a purse. But there was one exception. She had a small light saber that Jack had, which fit into the handle of a larger one. The toymaker made it like a light saber dagger. Anna carried it in her purse. It was on a day when she and Tommy and Jack had been outside in the backyard fighting imaginary galactic enemies of the Republic.
And what are Hello Kitty presents without a cake and plates to match? It was a perfect day, and I know that today was a perfect "unbirthday" too, because for Anna, the perfect celebration is with her dad.
She tells me that her dad makes the "bes-test" scrambled eggs in the world. There are a whole list of things she told me about her dad and how incredible they are.
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