Pretty soon a very special day is coming up. My oldest, Claire, is turning 13! She won’t be a child anymore and I am looking for some ways to celebrate. Perhaps you can help me plan the best birthday for my first daughter.
I adopted Claire when she was only a few months old. Her mother was unfit to care for her. I lived in New York at the time, and would go to a favorite bakery on Wednesdays when they made almond croissants. I had a typical route I would take and would frequently see a young woman carrying her baby or putting the child in a stroller. She must have been a single mother. She always looked exhausted and rushed. Possibly a first time mother, too. She would forget to buckle the restraints in the stroller, or have the baby out without a jacket. She was trying her best, I suppose, but she just didn’t quite have motherhood down yet.
One day when I was walking by, the baby was outside in the stroller, but the mother was nowhere to be seen. It was a very cold day for October, and as usual the baby was only in a long sleeve shirt and pants. No jacket, no hat, no mittens, and no blanket to keep her warm. I hung back and watched, I was going to offer the mother a stern warning then buy the child some clothes, but she didn’t come. I must have waited five minutes, but it seemed like hours. The child was crying and it broke my heart.
I wasn’t going to take the child.
But the mother still hadn’t come back, and the crying intensified.
So I picked her up, wrapped her in my jacket and took her home with me. We moved from New York shortly thereafter, and have lived on the road ever since. She was a wonderful baby, calm and happy. By far my easiest child to date. She knows she was adopted from an unfit mother and has never shown any interest in getting to know the woman. I have given her a wonderful life, filled with culture and education. Did you know that many states offer online public education? They do! It is so wonderful to let the kids learn at their own pace. Once our brood expanded, we even held science fairs together.
Claire is a special kid. I thought she would be an only child for a long time, but I could see that she missed the companionship that a sibling would bring. I can’t remember where we were…Ohio maybe? And we were stopping in a town for a few days. They had a nice park, but it was pretty empty. A lot of the time it was just Claire and I. A few days, though, a little boy and little girl would join us. They never came with parents, and would eye our picnic lunch hungrily. Soon, I was making extra sandwiches and pulling out extra pudding cups and juicy juice. What was meant to be the last day, I finally realized that their clothes had never changed, when I saw the grass stain from jumping off the swing on the little boy’s shirt. That night Claire asked me about her friends. She was worried about them always being hungry and they had told her she couldn’t come over because their house wasn’t safe. I hadn’t notices the bruises on their dark skin, but Claire had. She asked if we could adopt them like I had adopted her.
And thus, our family grew for the first, but not last, time.
I had plenty of income doing odd jobs online, lots of art commissions, editing, etc., but I realized that my true passion lies with helping children, and began taking online classes to become a social worker. Claire says she wants to follow in my footsteps when she grows up. She is the one who started our piggy bank tradition. Each child has a bank that they get to paint to match their personality, and they put their allowance in it to save for college. She is so smart and wise for a child. Hers has these lovely blue flowers painted in a crown over the pig’s head.
I’m sorry, I’ve been rambling. I just don’t get the chance to brag about my family very often. They are all such great kids. I should get back to the important part: Claire’s birthday.
She loves green and blue, so I was thinking of getting colored paper plates and napkins. Does anyone have a link to some streamers or lanterns in those colors? She loves the movie Tangled, so I was thinking of doing a lantern release for her. I have a Rapunzel dress from the Disney store. I think she will love it! We already did funfetti cake for the twins, so I was thinking Chocolate? We are back on the east coast at the moment, so if anyone has recommendations for a bakery, I am all ears! I was thinking of a Publix cake? I usually buy a new game for everyone’s birthday and we play as a family. We have Don’t Break the Ice, Clue, Monopoly, and Hi Ho Cherry Oh! Do you have any that your families like? Claire’s favorite is Clue. I was thinking of Candy Land, but I am not sure. Is Twister still popular?
Anyway, the big surprise I am going to announce is that Claire is going to Space Camp! After the party, I am going to leave George in charge. He is the next oldest, at 10. Claire and I will drive off.
But we aren’t going to Space Camp.
I have a pretty spot picked out. It is surrounded by blue flowers, just like on her piggy bank. I already have the hole dug. No one should disturb us. I bought a beautiful hunting knife. I was thinking of slitting her throat. That seems like the most humane way to it. A gun just draws too much attention, and I don’t know that I can bring myself to bludgeon her.
I don’t want her to be scared.
I supposed I could choke her, but she is such a lovely child—well, young woman—and I don’t want to mar her last day with ugly bruises.
You see, this is why her party must be perfect. It is her last party.
