I think I told this story before, but it bears repeating. Those whose birthdays fall around the Christmas Holidays often get cheated somewhat (cannot tell you how many combo Christmas/birthday gifts I got growing up. LOL)
Well, a friend from bowling - her birthday was Dec. 23rd - was part of our lunch group that had lunch before bowling every week. Actually there was NO bowling the week between Christmas & New Years, so the group always did our birthdays together (just a cake after lunch). Fern used to tell stories about her huge family having a party the 1st Sat. in December for all the December birthdays, so even with her huge family, in laws, grandchildren, etc. she always shared.
Well, the year she turned 75, I told the group that she should have her birthday all by herself, it was a special one, right. We were going to eat at this restaurant that was famous (not only here, but elsewhere) for it's home made pies, so we ordered a large banana cream pie, explained about the birthday, etc. Well, we get there, and when it came time to bring out the pie, dishes, forks & candles, the waitress, really embarrassed, tells us that half the pie is gone, they has no other full pies left. Egads. They did have half a coconut creme, so....we said fine, but them together. We will have that, it makes a whole birthday pie.
And being kind, the waitress cuts the pies up, putting each piece on a plate, and that is how they come to the table. Faces fell, but what the heck, it is a party. I had a whole box of candles, we circled the plates, put a candle in each piece, lit them, sang the HB song. Fern blew them out after her wish. Lots of laughter.
At her funeral, a couple years later, her children (6 of them) just kept telling how much their mother loved that birthday, how she talked of it all the time, she would bring it up out of the blue. They admitted it was the ONLY birthday she ever got to have all to herself.
And I apologize if I told that before, hate to bore you again, but it always is a reminder that we never know what small kindness might mean to someone else, or how a wonderful lemonade came from a couple sour lemons.