Do you have a funny birthday memory? You know, a birthday that sticks out in your mind because it was fun, silly, or just memorable in some way? Today is my birthday, and I’ve been thinking over the last 43 years of birthdays. There are some great ones and some that I don’t really remember. But there is this one year, when I was in fifth grade, that always sticks out in my mind, and it has to do with one of my first bikes.
During elementary school, I inherited a bike from some older family friends. The picture above is of one of them attempting to help me ride on a bike that is just way too big for me. And as much as I love the color blue, I’m just not thinking it is really my shade. My parents must have thought the same thing, because their plan was to get me a bike for my birthday.
And their plan was to try to surprise me with it. But bikes are big and cumbersome, right? How do you wrap them up, where do you put them so that they won’t be seen? Lots of challenges. Their idea was to put the user manual for my new bike in a place where I would see it first thing in the morning: the piano. I’ve told you before about how I have always been an early riser and that doing my piano practice was one of the tasks used to keep me from being bored early in the morning when no one else was up.
On the morning of this particular birthday, I followed my typical routine. I got up and headed to the piano to start my practice. Being a devoted student, I didn’t even notice that there was a bike manual on the piano stand. I picked up what was there, laid it to the side, grabbed my Suzuki Piano book and started playing. I can only imagine what my parents were thinking. I know I’d be waiting to hear my kids squeal with delight or holler with excitement. Nope, I just started in on my next sonata.
Pretty soon my dad came out and asked me, “Did you see what was on the piano?” I think I responded with something like, “Dad, I’m right in the middle of the song.” And then he asked again, “No, did you really look at what was on the piano?” And I glanced down and said, “A booklet about a bike.” It still took some back and forth for me to realize that the new bike was my birthday present. Not so quick on the uptake, but I did get it eventually and was quite thrilled to turn over the blue bike to my sister and jump on my new bike.
I hope that you have some birthday memories that make you laugh, even if it is a little at yourself. And we are all set to make some new birthday memories this year. Not for me, but for Kerby’s Nursery. This year is our 40th Birthday and we’ll kick it off with a birthday party on Saturday, March 7th. It all starts at 9:30 am with the unveiling of the Butterfly Mural, and then on every hour from 10 to 4 there will be a 20-minute seminar featuring some of your favorite gardening topics. And to make it interesting, at 40 past the hour from 9 to 5, we’ll be giving away a $40 gift card to a lucky customer in the store. Celebrate with us!
