Our Birthday Traditions

Following in the footsteps of my parents,
we phoned our daughter first thing today
and sang Happy Birthday. She and her
friends are off on a short trip to RI.

My parents lived in Colorado
in a different time zone two hours
earlier than in Upstate NY. When I
normally left the house for teaching,

it was in the wee hours so my parents
had to be up by dawn to phone me and
sing. Fortunately, our two children live in
the same time zone. We have left

our voices on answering machines when
they are not able to answer. We also
follow another tradition my parents did
when I no longer lived at home. Enclosed

with my birthday card was a check for a
small amount depending upon the
birthday. So, if I was twenty-eight for
example, the check was written for

the amount of $28.28. And on it went year
after year. My husband switched it up
when our two needed college money. He
wrote a more generous amount of say

$228. 28 for a twenty-eight birthday.
Carrying on traditions in families is
an important way to show love
and caring for one another. I am

convinced my parents sent us and our
daughter identical green grasshoppers as
a way of hopping by for a short visit with
us – the birthday grasshopper!