I dreaded telling little miss that we had to cancel her birthday plans, including her party. A week ago, we sat together on her bed as I reminded her about why we were staying home, and I broke the news that we had delay her party. She teared up, briefly upset, but then she looked at me and asked, “I still get a birthday, right?”
“Of course!” I told her. “You get to spend the day of your real birthday with daddy, your brother, and me.” She perked up at the idea, but I still sensed a touch of disappointment. I knew I had to make her birthday day as special as possible, even if we didn’t get to spend it in person with family and going to Build a Bear. (Affiliate links may be included).
So, I decorated the house with streamers and balloons. I set out her presents in Frozen wrapping paper. We made a brownie cake (her pick!), and we planned to have a unicorn and butterfly-inspired day.
From the outside looking in, it may have looked like any other day at home, plus birthday presents and cake. But it was all about her, from the French toast for breakfast to the tuna noodle for lunch and burgers for dinner. In the morning, we did a Zoom video call with my side of the family, complete with singing happy birthday. We Facetimed with my husband’s side of the family too, and she squealed in delight when she opened her Barbie Camper that her Mimi and Bobo bought and shipped to her.
In all honesty, from that moment on all she wanted to do was make her birthday unicorn mask, create crafts with her new craft kit, and play with her new toys. So that’s what we did. Because her birthday was all about her.
At the end of the day, I asked her, “what was your favorite part of the day?”
She laid there, thinking for a bit. “All of it?” she said hesitantly.
“Really?” I asked.
She nodded furiously. “It was the best birthday ever.” Considering she had a Disney princess visit her party last year, I was a little taken aback at her declaration. But I was thankful for it too.
Her happiness about how we spent the day together reminded me of something important. We can worry about all the things we can’t do (I know I do, especially now). We can fret over what may happen in the days ahead (I’ve been doing plenty of that as well). Or we can choose to focus on right now and the things that we can do.
That’s what we did for her birthday and it made what could have been a difficult day, a memorable and unique one instead.
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