Birthday Wishes

Yesterday it was the birthday of one of my favorite people.  I'll call her Charlie.  Yes, it's true that in the past several years we've lost touch to some extent.  However, she is one of my oldest friends and has contributed to some of my most lasting memories.  Each year at this time no matter how long it's been since I've talked to her last, I think of her often.  She grew up just up the street from me so we played regularly.  She is also my first cousin which was a bonus.  How great is that?  Best friend and relative?  Just plain rad!  And our birthdays are only a week apart which from day one I always found totally awesome.  Since her birthday is right after Thanksgiving we often went to see the Nutcracker Ballet.  The first few times I'm sure we were just enthralled with the lights, music, dancing and sparkly tutus, but it didn't take long for us to outgrow that.  Soon we just giggled about boys in tights and the "potato" in their pants.  From that year on whenever we visited the Nutcracker Ballet it wasn't so much a magical fairytale but rather rosy cheeks and laughter due to the "produce" on display.  Now as a mother, my children go to the Nutcracker with Nana and their cousin each year after Thanksgiving and come home in awe of the production but also blushing and giggling about the boys in tights.  How great it is to see the next generation enjoying the same memories that my cousin and I do.

Charlie always had the coolest toys.  She had the complete Care Bears Care-a-lot world with more gadgets and pieces than I can remember.  I loved the little cloud cars the most.  She also owned the castle and action figures to Heman and Shera.  Wow!  It still blows my mind just to think about it.  "Masters of the Universe!"  And best of all, she always had a healthy stock of Lip Smackers.  I vividly remember standing in the kitchen at her house one day and eating a whole tube of Orange Lip Smackers.  It was pretty much delicious not to mention somewhat nutritional.  "Nutritional?" you ask.  Well, it was orange which I'm pretty sure fits into one of the food groups.  My lips were soft for a week.  One year for Christmas we both asked for BB guns and miraculously we both got them.  I don't know how many times we heard, "you'll shoot your eye out!" from the classic Christmas Story movie.  And although neither of us ever got hurt by our trusty Red Riders, there were many an aluminum can or robin that didn't stand a chance against our marksmanship.

Whether car pooling to school, doing the Burrito Dance together at Christmastime, fighting at Girls' Camp, spending a summer together on crutches, playing Mario Brothers, making burnt spaghetti (how is that possible you ask?), or riding bikes, I love you, Charlie.  You are one of the funniest people I know and I hope you had a wonderful birthday full of Lip Smackers and wholesome Nutcracker entertainment. 

Happy Birthday!