Stahlke Adoption

Birthday Greeting

We are celebrating Adam's 13th birthday today. Most of our ritual for birthdays is completely American--cake, candles, and gifts. Each child buys a $5 gift for the birthday sibling, while Jonathan and I purchase a bigger present as their family gift. Combined with gifts and cards from friends and family, it's quite a celebration.

I also make cupcakes or brownies for the child's class. This year, Adam has a baseball game on his birthday, so I've cooked a triple batch so that the team gets some goodies, too. This year at Garfield, however, a new rule states that all birthday treats have to be store-bought and wrapped. They are distributed at the end of the school day, so that the parents can control if and when they are eaten. Food allergies, especially to peanuts, are the stated reason for the change, but I'm sure liability is also a factor.

The first year that the kids were here, they would often yank on the birthday child's earlobe really hard. It was pretty uncomfortable, and the child doing the pulling seemed more delighted about it than the one on the receiving end. I'd like to know more about the meaning of this particular birthday greeting from Ukraine!

posted by Stahlkes @ 2:08 PM