23/365

3 years old. Do you remember what it felt like to be 3? If not for this video, I'm not sure that Gabe Frizsell would remember his first day of it. I don't remember 3. But I do remember 4...

Being as I was the oldest child, I happened to get the short end of the deal every once in awhile. One of those was birthday #4. It was the first friend party thrown for me. We had a Sesame Street ice cream cake, cause I was big into words and ice cream. [Some things never change.] We sang The Birthday Song. Cool. Blew out the candles. Cool. Cut the cake. Still cool. Handed out cake to everyone but me. NOT COOL. I think my parents took the "manners" portion of parenting a little too far. I had to sit there and watch as everyone dug into the cake while I patiently waited for the last measly piece. Do you realize how long 2 minutes feels when you're 4? It must be the equivalent to an hour in grown-up time.

Then it was time for games! Mom filled a large mixing bowl with cotton balls. The objective was to try to get as many cotton balls as possible in this spoon while blind-folded. I remember this as clear as yesterday (partly because we have it on video), but the next part still just kills me. You have to understand that I was the kind of girl that was easily excited. I tucked in my shirts. I had perfectly straight bangs. I washed my hands without being asked to. So a game of this nature was right up my alley. In perfect little girl fashion, I let out a little squeal and rushed to the front of the line. Then from outside of the camera frame, dad comes from across the room at bullet speed, places both hands on my shoulders and says "NO NO NO NO!" in a laughing, but billowing voice. "The birthday girl always goes last!" You couldn't paint a more perfect pout than the one I put on display for the remainder of the game. Well, for the remainder of the party for that matter. Because this "you're so special you go last" program I was being subject to just kept going and going.

I have to believe that my parents--although OVER THE TOP in their pursuit to create the most well-mannered child on the planet--had their hearts in the right place. And now, I just cannot help but to smile every time I go to a little one's birthday party -like I did tonight-and I see he or she take the 1st bite of cake or the 1st swing at the pinata. The funny thing is, knowing that that wasn't how things went down for me actually makes me feel special.

So maybe they knew what they were doing all along....

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Matthew 20:16