RIP Story: June 21st, 2024
This would be the first birthday Sasha remembered celebrating. Her birthday had always been marked with a celebration and the gathering of friends and family. However, when she looked back on this time in her, life, the first birthday moment that became a core memory was looking for the perfect card.
It started with a trip to the store so her mom could buy a get-well card for her sister, Sasha’s aunt. Sasha asked why they weren’t looking at the candle and noise cards. “Aunty isn’t feeling well my love,” her mother answered. Sasha looked at some of the cards but none of them had the bright colors in the other aisles. “I’m going to look for a daddy card,” Sasha announced. Her mother asked her not to wander off and stay close. It turns out putting cards back into the wall was more difficult than mommy made it look. When her mom came around the corner, she could see all the cards Sasha had pulled out and tried to put back. They were in various states of disheveled and her mother had to tidy up the cards for Sahsa.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” her mother asked.
“No,” Sasha replied with a sad looking face.
Sasha’s mom was a little confused because Father’s Day had passed and wasn’t something Sasha fully registered. Rather than guess she simply asked, “What kind of card were you looking for?”
“A Happy Daddy Day card!” Sasha announced. The declaration was still unclear as her dad would not have a birthday for another 3 months.
“Do you mean Happy Birthday?”
“Yes, silly!” Sasha impatiently confirmed.
“Well, I have good news for you, we can come back to this part of the store next week and they will have different cards for you to peruse.”
“Purr. Purr. who?” Sasha asked.
Her mother asked and told her they would be back soon to look again.
That was good enough for Sasha and so would begin the weeks long process to find the perfect Daddy Day card. Each week passed and the perfect card refused to reveal itself. At first it was cute, but as the actual day was coming fast, Sasha’s mom was getting worried. “Sweetheart, what about making your own card?” she asked. It was a rick because Sasha’s mom never made her own cards, and the idea may not have meaning to Sasha.
“Yes!” Sasha exclaimed. Her mom took her down the stationary aisle and they found colorful paper and color pencils. Everything Sasha would need to make the perfect card. Sasha got home with her supplies and told her dad he could not come in her room; she was making the perfect -. Her mom had to cut her off before she spoiled her own surprise.
Her mom checked in on her an hour later. The room was quiet. It was unknowable if this quiet was a good or bad thing. Sasha sat at her desk, quiet and frustrated the way a small child scrunches their faces when they can’t do something. “What’s wrong my love?” Sasha’s mom asked. Sasha explained that she didn’t like the colors and she didn’t have the stickers she wanted, and she wanted it to be perfect.
“Do you think your dad wants the perfect card?”
“No?” Sasha replied in a way that asked a return question more than answering what her mom had asked.
“I think the perfect card for your dad is anything that comes from your heart. Let’s work on this together.”
With the help of her mom, it took ten minutes to make the perfect card for her dad.
“Happy Daddy’s Day Dad!” Sasha said. He picked her up thanked her for the card and gave her a big hug. He then made eye contact with his wife and mouthed are we celebrating a month early?
“We will work on the timing next year. Sasha was very excited to make your perfect card,” Sasha’s mom said.
Sasha’s dad started to dance around the room with his daughter singing a birthday song from one of Sasha’s cartoons.
“This is the best card I’ve ever received Kid; I love you.”
Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow.
EPILOGUE: