There is one birthday party I attended at a grade school age that will always be remembered. The friend to be honored was a girl from my church Her mother sent out lovely invitations for the birthday party and I couldn’t wait to go to the party. We shopped carefully for a gift and wrapped it up with colorful paper and a stick-on bow. This was a time in America when you dressed up for parties, especially little girl birthday parties. So I put on a freshly ironed pretty dress with a full skirt and my Sunday church shoes.
When Mother dropped me off at the party there were several other little girls there, some from church and others from the school the birthday girl attended. The games we played were fun. But by the time we were ready to gather around the Formica kitchen table and watch her blow out her candles I’d found out the news that following the birthday party there was going to be a birthday sleepover for her ‘special’ friends. Evidently some friends were staying while others went on home.
My heart sunk. I wasn’t a special friend? What had I done to miss the cut of the sleepover? The cake tasted like sawdust, the chatter no longer interesting. The parting thanks for the gift meant little to me as I walked out to Mother’s car with my leaden feet. However unintentional the slight had been, it had crushed my spirit.
Lesson Learned: The best ‘present’ is awareness in how your actions affect those in your circle of friends. Put on their party shoes to see if you are treating others kindly.
