Dear Joseph:
We’ve had some good parties.
1 Year
I was deployed, that’s what I remember. But there were some nice photos. Esther organized quite a rager at our Oakland home. Dave Barney attended, and cupcakes were present.
I found this gem that I wrote around your zero birthday.
2 Years
We had just moved to Utah and were living in your grandparents’ house in Holladay. We celebrate on the back deck with homemade root beer. My cousins Sarah and David came if memory serves. We bought a blue cooler for the root beer that we still have. That’s my big takeaway.
3 Years
Your love for pizza was honed at an early age. On your third birthday, we gathered at Litza’s Pizza in Salt Lake. It was an intimate affair, but we loaded you up with stickers, cards, and band-aids. You were so easy, and so much fun. And you had a baby brother by this point. Life was good!
4 Years
Big man! September birthdays are so great because people love to keep hope alive that summer persists. It’s a bit of a last gasp.
So we took advantage. The Findlays came with their twin girls. They were a bit older than you, but they loved the end of summer just as much as anyone else.
The main attraction was a slip-n-slide. There was still the trampoline and hot tub in Papa’s and grandma’s backyard. It was a swimsuit party!
5 Years
By the time you turned five, we were neck deep in our first bona fide house on Emery Street. It was a lot of work, and you helpd by sitting in a box with your brother, out of the way.
But we did make tie to celebrate. There was a hole-in-the-wall called Sam’s, a burger joint on 6th South in Salt Lake. They were empty (they would close down a few months later) Aunt Laura was there, and the burgers were quite good. We had their famous pie shakes. The manager thought you were so cute he gave you some vouchers for more free pie shakes. We never got to use them because, (they would close down a few months later).
6 Years
It was the second of your birthdays that I missed because of Army duty. I remember well Drill Sergeant Jefferson explaining to the complainers at basic training that he had missed a lot of anniversaries and a lot of birthdays because of the Army.
While I was in Kandahar, your mom put together a swell party in our backyard at Emery street. You were enthralled by the idea of school and wanted to be a teacher (you had just started kindergarten at Franklin).
Naturally, you had a school party. There was an outdoor classroom and chalkboard. I think you had school lunch and recess.
For the family party (the one that is the excuse for grandma to buy a rum cake from Glaus French Bakery) Papa made you a cornhole board. It would end up being a fixture at birthday parties to come.
7 Years
I honestly can’t remember what we did for your birthday in 2015. That’s why I’m writing this letter to you.
We might have gone to Chuck-A-Rama. That’s something you would have requested, and your mom thinks it’s likely.
8 Years
It’s your cowboy party! Wow, we really went out on this one. We bought hay bales! We paid for home-made rootbeer (not cheap, it the kind that was carbonated with yeast). There was a bar, a bartender, and even a bank robbery! Your grandpa played the role nicely. The cornhole board became a snake toss. There were wanted posters all over. The kids got cap guns (those were hard to find). And it was all a surprise!
One thing I also remember from this one was how you gave away some of your presents. You’ve always been more interested in getting others involved over getting stuff.
9 Years
This was the third birthday party of yours that I missed. Sorry, but. Bad batting average. I was in Texas at the time doing the Hurricane Harvey mission.
Mom set up another Emery Street backyard party. You and your friends sat in the canoe and played Minecraft.
10 Years
By now we were in our house on Indiana Avenue. Simple and cheap was the name of the game. You had friends over to the Indiana house and you played games, probably Minecraft again.
I gave you the classic Nintendo, proving the rule that dads get their boys things the dad wished they would have had.
11 Years
Nobody is too old for Chuck E. Cheese. Our hope was to hold two parties for the price of one. The price ended up higher than we anticipated.
12 Years
Bonsai! The Army struck again this year. I was on orders for Operation Wind Debris, which is famous for having the lamest, but more accurately descriptive name in the history of military operations.
Your birthday was on a Saturday, but I was tied up almost all day. We decided to go to dinner with you on Sunday, adter I tied up some loose ends at the Springville Armory for one last mission. We wrapped up pretty early and made our way to Bonsai Japanese steakhouse in Sandy.
You got what you wanted, and so did I. A great time out with my family, and the handsomest birthday boy there ever could be.
