Birthday Paper

The big one in the back looked nice - but so did the tall one. Maybe I should start with one of the smaller ones and get them over with? There’s something special about turning 10. On paper I’m mature, but inside I still want the big ones. The bigger the better. To a little, as my older sister calls me and my baby brother (he’s actually four but he acts like a baby), the bigger the better! Turning 10 is no exception, even though it’s the “double digits.” My older sister Ashli likes small things. Small food like sushi. Small fancy cakes - Why??? The perfect cake comes from Costco. Costco cakes last at least a week and that’s with a party AND siblings. She has no idea of the important things in life because she is sophisticated. Boring! My mom’s sophisticated. My dad likes his cakes from Costco. But here we are, my day of supposed transition into the “double digits” - which I may be in for the rest of my life. The only one who made it to the “triple digits” in my family is my Aunt Jean. Looking at my present stock, it’s a mixed bag. I have an equal amount of small and large presents and a handful of medium. At least my dad was in charge of the cake!

I only like parties for presents. I like cake, but it’s about the gifts. It’s a lot of “Willa smile!” “Happy Birthday Willa!” “I can’t believe you’re all grown up!” I hope I’m not grown up! On paper I’m old, but inside and outside and everywhere else I’m barely older than my baby brother. After a party, my mom sleeps on the couch and my dad cleans. I wanted to help my dad. He’s my best friend and I like helping. Since I made a mess of the presents, I started there. Wait! Under one piece of iridescent paper was a tiny gift. Sitting new like a flower sprouting after war. White with a bow - my favorite shade of purple. I carefully untied the beautiful purple bow. This present was special. I unfolded the paper. A small book? What was it for? It wasn’t even a color. A small black book! I didn’t know what it was but I knew I didn’t want a small black book. Why would something so awful be wrapped in such a delightful way? Like when my mom makes zucchini cake. No one wants zucchini cake! Cake should be from Costco! And cake should be vanilla with chocolate frosting - in a pinch, any chocolate or vanilla combination will do. Nothing else! Not strawberry, not lemon, and certainly NOT ZUCCHINI! And this book shouldn’t be here! I didn’t even want to look inside, but I’m 10 now and I have to grow up some time. I open the book and its just blank! A book of empty pages with lines. Why? I have notebooks for school. Why would I get paper for my Birthday? Each page screamed, “Boring!” “More Boring!” “Even More Boring!” Then I came to the last page. Money?! Now this book was suddenly interesting! This book was appropriate for the mature “double-digited” 10-year-old I was. But how much? One $10, two $10, three $10, and all the way up to ten $10’s! Wow! I got a new iPhone, new rollerblades, a new pair of jeans, and a new laptop - BORING! But this? Let me count how much this is, hold on…WOW! ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS! This is A LOT of money! Who was it from? There, the last page “Happy 10th Birthday Willa. May this book allow you to create and keep track of your amazing ideas and this money help you achieve your dreams. Love Grandpa Jim.” This was my grandpa on my dad’s side. He always came to my parties. I always knew he was the smartest Grandparent. Of course he was! He just gave me this AMAZING gift! ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS! I can’t help dad now because I have to figure out what to spend this ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS on!

After careful consideration, which I have to do now because I’m 10, I decided I cannot spend it all on candy and chips. I’m giving $20 to Ashli because I accidentally ruined her lipstick. I tried it on in the treehouse and left it there and it melted. Why would lipstick melt? Does it melt off your lips too? Ashli yelled “You stupid Little! That cost $20!” I slipped a “sorry” note and two $10’s under her door. EIGHTY DOLLARS left! The neighbor has a cute mutt-dog named Fritz. I once gave him our dog’s treats and he ate it like he hadn’t ate before. I had to get Fritz treats. I looked in our cabinet. $7 for gross treats? Why? Fritz liked them! I couldn’t break the $10 into $7 so I wrote a note and put one $10 inside and dropped it at the neighbor’s. SEVENTY DOLLARS left! SEVENTY DOLLARS is A LOT of money! I better sleep on it.

I woke up and was forced to go to the store with my mom. The only reason I have to go is to babysit my baby brother. My baby brother is BORING! He cries and whines and picks up everything. Now that I’m 10, grocery shopping is a preparation for adulthood. My mom forgot the peas! How can you forget the peas?! We went down EVERY aisle! Our items are spewed out on the conveyor like they’re ready for surgery. HOW CAN YOU FORGET THE PEAS?! “Willa watch your brother, I have to get peas.” Off she went. My baby brother grabs all the candies that they display perfectly at his level. I keep his hands in check but it’s like playing Whack-A-Mole. “No!” “Stop!” “Put that back!” The lady at the register says the total.  $37.52 - that’s A LOT of money, but not as much as SEVENTY DOLLARS! I’m suddenly a penny pincher. That’s what my mom calls people who count their money. Like her friend Linda St.Clair. Linda uses a calculator when we go to lunch so she only pays her share. My mom says, “she’s such a penny pincher!” Linda always has money! There’s something to being a penny pincher. I too am a penny pincher - now that I’ve recently come into A LOT of money! SEVENTY DOLLARS! “Declined!” “Declined!” “Declined!” Three times the woman in front of me’s card was “Declined!” Now four. She scrounges her pockets for money. My baby brother drops the display of Rollos onto the floor. “No!” I pick them up and notice the woman’s shoes. Holes. My shoes are new. I have lots of shoes. Maybe eight if you consider my new rollerblades. Surely this woman has another pair of shoes? Why would she wear honey ones then? Her money cards are all “Declined!” Is she poor? I’ve never met a poor person. My mom talks about them but I never met one. My mom says we must help the poor. This woman was frantically looking for money for her simple groceries. Bread, juice, and cereal. Then she started helping me pick up Rollos. She smiled at my little brother. This poor woman was kind. I wanted to be kind. How many $10’s was $37.52? Four $10’s I gave to the lady at the register. The poor woman was still cleaning up Rollos. The register lady asked if I was sure. Of course I was sure! I had SEVENTY DOLLARS! A LOT of money! This poor woman had nothing! Well not nothing, she had kindness. I wanted kindness. The lady behind the register reluctantly took my four $10’s and handed me $2.48 - not a lot of money. But when I add it up, THIRTY-TWO DOLLARS FORTY-EIGHT CENTS, that’s A LOT of money! I never knew so much could happen when you’re looking for peas. My mom returned in a rush because it was tumbling time. She didn’t know I earned kindness - $37.52 worth.

At my gym there’s a play place for siblings. It’s babysitting so the moms and dads can drop off all their kids and get a little peace. Because of the pea incidence, we were late. In these cases, I have to check my baby brother in. “SCREEEEEEECH!!!!” My mom skids to the front. I run in with my baby brother. I drop him off and see the sign. “PIZZA DAY - $10” Why today??? My mom had to forget the peas! All the kids were eating pizza! I couldn’t deprive my baby brother - I have kindness now. One $10 went to the pimple-faced-teenager who Ashli is NOT friends with. And off my baby brother went to stuff his chubby, whiney cheeks with $10 pizza. The black book was getting flatter and flatter and I still didn’t know what I was going to do with the money! TWENTY-TWO DOLLARS FORTY-EIGHT CENTS. What would I do with the boring little black book after I spent the money? Boring!

Day three. TWENTY-TWO DOLLARS FORTY-EIGHT CENTS. Yes! Ashli was going to her friend Bella’s house. Bella was nice to me. She’s an only child and doesn’t understand why Ashli doesn’t like her siblings. Now I can sneak in her room. She has the best room! Her room has magical twinkling lights hanging over her bed. She has makeup and jewelry and a billion hats! I tried on every hat and necklace. I wore her chunky shoes and laid on her soft blankets. I got to be Ashli for a little while! Definitely, NOT BORING! I had no idea my baby brother followed me! Why? And why didn’t I notice? I wouldn’t have known except…“FLUSH!” He had red evidence allover his hands. Can you flush lipstick? At four he can answer questions. Is that lipstick on your hands? Nod, nod. Did you flush lipstick down the toilet? Nod, nod. Where was my mother? He’s in SO much trouble! Wait…it’s my sister’s bathroom…inside her bedroom..that she keeps closed…with a child handle, which I can open and my baby brother cannot. Another note and another two $10’s. The black book isn’t the same! Where’d it all go? I haven’t even figured out what I was going to do with the money! The empty black book is so empty. $2.48 - NOT A LOT OF MONEY! What would Grandpa say? I never wanted to talk to him again. He gave me such a nice gift and I wasted it! On what? Lipstick and pizza?

The next day was my 4th grade class’s day to work the Book Fair but I couldn’t stop thinking about my almost empty little black book. I had to do something very special with the minuscule $2.48. The last class came through the Fair - now our classes turn. Everyone LOVES their shopping time, except Perry - Perry is autistic and doesn’t like people. I normally love shopping but not this year. I could not stop thinking about my little boring book! Then I saw it! The most perfect purple pen I’ve ever seen! It was the exact right shade of purple! It had a nice rubber grip and it’s retractable! How much? $2.44! That was NOT A LOT of money! Grandpa would approve of this pen! I gave $2.48 to my teacher and said “Keep the change” just like my dad says to people. I went to my classroom and looked at my most perfect purple pen. What would I use it on? And just like that, everything made sense! This I knew because I was on my way to adulthood. The boring, useless, empty, little black book with blank pages and lines was now the BEST Birthday any 10-year-old could ever get! I turned to the first page and knew exactly what to do. I started with the title, “BIRTHDAY PAPER.”