Photo of Sherri Kennedy
By Buena Laoang
I remember my childhood birthdays with cake and visitors and wrapped gifts always present around. My grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, all the neighborhood are there. I’d enjoy the new toys and the playtimes with my cousins, and my mother would always have me sit on her lap and have our photo taken. I usually wear the biggest smile.
When I turned a teen, visitors faces changed. Relatives were replaced by classmates and friends, and special guests composed of crushes and favorite teachers in school. I no longer had cakes and gifts, though, and my mother would just give me an amount to buy my fancies. I remember sharing to my circle of friends stationery sets or stickers, or magazine cut-outs of favorite artists, and then creating a happy birthday chapter on my notebook pages that says, “Happy birthday!”, filled by my friends with their handwritten messages and notes (sometimes kiss marks, too!).
What are your fond memories of childhood birthdays? CHALLENGE- Bring yourself back to your younger years. Maybe there had been moments there- funny, silly, and memorable- that will add glow to your face today. 
Feel free to share!
Feel free to share! About the Author: Buenaflor Laoang-Rosete finished Creative Writing from the University of the Philippines Diliman, and an awardee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Philippines in 2001. She worked with the Tarlac College of Agriculture (a government college) as Communication Officer for eight years, and now with three kids ages 2,4,and 6, moved to becoming a full time house mom. Currently she is devoted to satisfying her husband, nurturing her kids, goes to runs and outreaches, and writes. Valuing life, she keeps her love for wisdom, photography, and immersion intact- in and out business.
