Birthday Memories: Sister Virginia
Birthdays at our house when I was growing up were happy occasions. We had a birthday cake with a candle in it at dessert time and the family sang Happy Birthday. There was always a birthday card in the mail from my Grandpa; it always had 50 cents in it, which at that time, I thought was wonderful!
When I was six years old, I had a birthday party. The little boys we played with who lived downstairs from us were invited. A few girls who were in my class at school were also invited. We had cake and ice cream and party favors too! We also played “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” In those days, that was really special. My parents had just purchased our first house and soon we would be moving away. As I look at the photos now, my “take away” from that celebration is that my mother taught me that on special occasions, it’s important to have people who are special to us, be with us. The spotlight is not just on the birthday person, but on friends sharing a good time together. Since I wouldn’t be celebrating birthdays with these people again, it was a good time to share fun with them!
My birthday is January 17. Many years, the Green Bay Packers are still “in the hunt” toward the playoffs or even the Super Bowl, so we continue to have our traditional Packers parties at Mater Salvatoris on game days. At the Packers party nearest my birthday, we have cake and ice cream, sing Happy Birthday and everyone, including the birthday girl, enjoys the occasion!
Sister Virginia Honish, SDS