Todays question Tuesday 10-07-08

[NCN]

In 1978 I went to work for a wonderful boss. I was only at headquarters once a week, so I missed a lot of the social activity and did not know all the new work rules. On Fridays, I traveled from my branch library and had to shelve one book truck to keep in touch with the books available in our system. (This was before computers.) I then collected all the books our little branch did not have that the library patrons were asking for and returned that afternoon to my branch where my patrons came to pick up their reserves. I was the only employee at that branch at that time.

My delight came when a person from the main library's reference department came to help me finish the truck of books. She had noticed my routine and knew I did not take a break until I had finished that duty. I had never seen anybody shelve so fast. She practically threw the books on the shelf. Then she said, "Let's go to break." I walked into the break room and there was a cake waiting on the break table and everybody there, and everybody was there except the boss who was keeping the library going while we all had break, started singing "Happy Birthday." What I know now that I did not know then is that the boss personally baked a cake for every employee on that employee's birthday and she did a little detective work to know which flavor would be our favorite. I enjoyed many birthday cakes before this boss died about 13 years later. That was the best one though, because I didn't expect it. We worked our heads off for this library director because she made each employee feel special. We were like a big library family. God bless her soul!

When I was growing up, Mom would bake a cake, usually chocolate, and they would sing "Happy Birthday" and then I would get a spanking with one paddle for every year and one to grow on.

I think we had hats when my now 13 year old granddaughter was five and we attended her party.

Our children got a party at 6, 10, and 16. Some of our children's friends had a party every year, but I think that is a little too much. We always had a store bought (usually at Harris Teeter because their cakes are the best) cake for our children every year. We once really got a good laugh when our four year old son thought that cake was the birthday.

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Speaking of dancers and stripping, the funniest b-day I can recall was hiring an exotic dancer for my husband. He was SO embarrassed. I dont think we ever really did anything during childhood, at least as far back as I can remember, for any of mine. But for us, its always just been another day and my dad did the best he could as a single parent. We really werent missing anything because he would bring us presents just out of the blue, sometimes, just because.
Other than that, the best-est 'birth' days here were when my babies were born.