A memoir of a...

I peered out the window with a little excitement and a little nervousness.  I was being driven to a park shelter in Solon on a late fall morning for the first ever assignment of my life.  Through the window I spotted a decaying Party City store with an 'Everything Must GO' sale banner.  Instantly, my mind was cast back to a time not so long ago when I would spend my days laying on a dusty shelf inside that very store.  The official party line, pun intended, was that our store was on Corporate's closure list and that if no one bought me and my shelf-mates soon, we would all be transferred to a mysterious dark place where spooky rats and creepy racoons supposedly roamed the aisles.  A shudder passed through my creases as I saw the store disappear into the distance through the SUV window.  I hated to imagine what would have happened to me if someone hadn't bought me in time!

The little girl had just turned one.  Her parents had planned an outdoor birthday party.  'Winnie the Pooh' was the theme.  Going by the tacky 8.5x11 sheets of dully colored Pooh pictures and handwritten notes that said 'Cheese Pizza', 'Coconut Laddoo', 'Cake', etc., I could tell that the family was fairly unschooled in the art of party throwing.  Furthermore, they had decided on an outdoor party in 40°F weather, which meant that had to figure out how to get the fireplace in the shelter going and keep it going for 4 hours.  I remember seeing people scurrying back and forth with bundles of firewood throughout the duration of the party!  Watching the parents scramble through the motions of the party, blowing balloons, setting up the tables, welcoming the guests, managing the pizza delivery, and blissfully forgetting to hand out return gifts, all while the little girl angelically slept in her car seat, I could not help but feel a sense of belonging with this clumsy little family.  My job was comparatively simple.  All I had to do was stay hanging on the wall by two nails and display the Happy Birthday message printed on me, which I did very proudly!

Seven years have passed since that party.  That I have seen the little girl blossom from a tiny little baby into a chirpy little seven year old is my claim to fame.  Over these seven years, I have truly assimilated into my family.  The little girl makes sure no one forgets me; she even made them bring me out for her 'half birthday' when she turned 6.5 years old!  I have been a constant in all the different types of birthday parties my family has organized over all these years.  I have been in outdoor birthdays, indoor birthdays, birthdays overseas, birthdays with music concerts, birthdays with kids making care packages, mom's birthdays, dad's birthdays, and what have you!  I have been with my family through many joys and sorrows.  I have seen career promotions, job losses, health issues, surgeries, address changes, new arrivals (we now have another cute little girl, who's first birthday we recently celebrated in the house amid COVID fears), and so much more!

On occasion, as I sit carefully folded in my cardboard box in the basement, my mind wanders thinking what would have happened to me if I hadn't found my family.  I shudder when I am reminded of that mysterious place with rats and racoons and thank my fate for deciding instead to send me here to this warm home!