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    Wednesday
    03Mar2010

    A very Smurfy sixth birthday

    Photo by Flickr user ragnar1984

    I turned six on March 6, 1986. I was fascinated with how often the number six was involved with my birthday that year, probably because I had recently figured out numbers and patterns.

    Here in Maryland, we often have our first spring-like days around my birthday, and in 1986 it was warm enough to have my birthday party outside.

    It was a Smurfs-themed birthday party. There were Smurfs plates, Smurfs cups, and a plastic Smurfs tablecloth with a waxy texture that, for some reason, I can still remember clearly.

    There was a gang of six-year-olds running around the backyard. We played Pin the Tail on the Donkey outside under the warm March sunlight, the game hung on an outside wall. My parents had decorated the backyard patio with streamers and balloons, some even in the nearby trees, which to my six-year-old eyes seemed outrageous and exciting. That might have also been the year we set up plastic bowling pins and converted a hallway into a bowling lane, but that game might be from another childhood birthday that I'm blending into this one.

    Though it was Smurfs-themed party, with almost all decorations and accessories following a Smurfy blue color scheme, I was adamant that I have a green birthday cake. I think my mom tried to talk me out of it, but I was resolute. (Again, I might be plucking that detail from another birthday, but I'm pretty sure it's right.)

    24 (!) years later, we're experiencing a mix of rain and snow mix today. But right on schedule, the temperatures are expected rise into the 50s with sunny skies on my birthday this Saturday. I'm not sure why the first signs of spring seem to usually coincide with my birthday (or, let's be honest, everybody's early-March birthday in Maryland), but I'll take it. It seems like a good way to kick off a new year and decade.

    I'm not sure what made me think about my sixth birthday, but it was definitely one of my favorites. I think it set the tone for what I expected out of all subsequent birthdays. While I won't be playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey this weekend (mostly because I couldn't figure out how to fit that into my plans without seeming like a big weirdo), I'm excited about warmer weather and a weekend spent with friends and family.

    Reader Comments (1)

    I'm amazed at your recollection of detail on that. My childhood birthday parties are mostly blurs, at least up until I started having slumber parties instead.

    I think your enthusiasm for your upcoming birthday and whole new decade is fantastic. I have all kinds of birthday related thoughts percolating and will save them for my own blog but: Happy birthday to us, and all fellow March 6ers! Let's bring on that spring.

    March 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterJen

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