Every birthday we celebrated in my family my Dad always made us a card. A homemade card. A card built from construction paper and God-given creativity. It always included some joke or referenced that year's current obsession one of us kids had. We always anxiously awaited the birthday card, even when it wasn't our own birthday. The card would be passed around the six of us and we would laugh and congratulate my Dad on another well-done form of artistry and cleverness. At a young age, my Dad taught us Bray's the value of a thoughtful gift.
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On my 4th birthday.....
...I had a Sesame Street sheet cake and I remember playing with a doll whose hair would grow then magically become short again when you cranked her arm. The doll was not a birthday gift. I was playing with it in my room to keep me occupied while the living room was being decorated before I opened presents. Presents. I couldn't tell you a SINGLE thing that I unwrapped that year. What DO I remember receiving? My oldest sister, Merideth, took a white poster board and covered the whole thing in multicolored star stickers.
Reference:
Merideth proudly pranced into the living room carrying this poster board half her size. It read, "HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY KAREN!!" There was a candy necklace taped to it as well.
It. Was. The. Coolest.
I've been distracted by glistening things my whole life. This moment may have been the starting point. I wish I had the picture with Merideth, me and my favorite gift that birthday. (Mom, if you're reading and you know where it is, scan and e-mail it??) The star-covered poster board is the first gift I can honestly say I remember receiving and being struck with awe.
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Like most children born in the 80's, I was Barbie obsessed. Multiply the obsession by 3 and you have Barbie Bray Dream House. My sister right above me, Sarah, was the go-to Barbie player. This girl had a multitude of Barbie accents and story ideas. One minute we were cruising in the red convertible on our way to rescue puppies from the animal shelter run by the evil dark-haired Barbie. The next we were beauty contestants demonstrating our talent of jumping really high and doing flips in the air while competing for a date with Ken.
A few days before my 7th birthday, Sarah told me I had to stay up in my room for awhile because she was working on my gift. I could barely sit still. All I knew was that she needed Dad's help and the backyard.
The day of my birthday all I could talk about was opening Sarah's gift. I could care less about any of the other stuff. Just bring me Sarah's present! I tore open the box to find a VHS tape.
Oh. My. Gosh. She made me a MOVIE! Wait. Not just any movie. A homemade BARBIE movie. The voices. The actions. The props. The drama. All created by Sarah. I bragged about it for years.
Whatever. I'm STILL bragging about it. It was awesome.
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My younger brother, Clifton, and I never got along as kids. We had our good days and bad. Back then I could never relate to him being the outsider with 3 older sisters. I know it was rough for him. Clifton and I started to become closer when I went off to college. I would call him occasionally for the male perspective when I was having boyfriend issues and we would chat on IM about what "lame" thing Mom and Dad had grounded him for.
For my college graduation, my whole family flew out to Texas Tech. I received lots of gifts that would prepare me for living on my own and my future as an adult. Clifton, however, framed this picture:
In front of the picture he wrote me a note saying how he knew we were not close as kids but that he was so happy our relationship had grown so much in the past couple of years. He said that he was so proud of me and knew that I would go on to accomplish great things.
I bursted into tears right there.
As Clifton has grown, I see so much of my Dad in him. I see my Dad and Mom in all of us Bray kids. They have always taught us to be thoughtful and conscious of others.
I love that I get excited easily. It's who I am. I will cry if you make me card. I will feel loved if you send me a postcard from Portugal. I will feel cared for if you bring me ice cream when I've been in a car accident. I will feel nurtured if you make me tea when I am sick. I will feel appreciated if you say "thank you." I will feel special if you come to my birthday party in the park.
It's that easy and I'm definitely not alone. Here's to all those who made the thought count.
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