by Ann
(West Virginia)
My mother gave me a birthday card on my 16th birthday that is still my most favorite one. The card looked like a blooming rose, which symbolized how I was also going to bloom like a beautiful flower. The text said, “It’s another special birthday for you. May God add many more petals of love on you, my lovely little flower. May you bloom year and year.” Whenever I am anxious or feeling a bit low, I look at the old but precious birthday card and it makes me happy.
My first daughter is going to celebrate her 16th birthday in two months. For this big occasion, I decided to create a customized birthday card for her. No surprise, I wanted it to be a replica of my own favorite birthday card. Unfortunately things didn’t go as planned.
I collected all the paper and tools I needed. I tried to make a beautiful rose but the end result was not satisfactory. I tried again but the same thing happened – I kept cutting the flower petals the wrong way. So after 2 more attempts, I just gave up and decided to buy a birthday card from a gift shop.
After looking through lots of cards in the shop’s collection, I finally found one that I liked. It has a blue background that symbolizes a beautiful clear sky. Over top of this blue, there are many balloons, all in different colors. The balloons, to me, are the symbol of freedom. Just like birds, they are flying with the wind.
I hope my daughter will love this birthday card. When she was a young child, playing with balloons was very exciting for her. I hope that my birthday card to here will bring back some fun memories.