Two - A Birthday Party to Remember #MFRWauthor 52-Week #BlogChallenge

To help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully, and with purpose, Marketing for Romance Writers announces the 2018 Blog Challenge. Each week, authors use our writing prompt to create a meaningful blog post. We'll be posting every Friday... join us as often as possible. All authors with blogs are welcome to participate.

Hello, everyone!

Welcome to Week 2 of the MFRW Author Blog 2018 Blog Challenge.

This week, our Challenge Question is: My Earliest Memory

I've always liked the idea of being able to keep a little part of me a secret from not just the world but even my loved ones.

Since I do have quite a few of them, I guess it would be okay to share a bit of myself for this post.

My memories really begin when I entered Kindergarten, but for this post, I'm going to share my absolute earliest memory (even if it is a bit choppy).

I did the math, and I was 4½ at the time because it was early summer and my next door neighbor's little brother turned one.

It was his First Birthday Party, and I and my younger brother, 3¼ yo, were invited to attend.

All I actually remember is sitting on their livingroom floor with a bunch of other kids I didn't recognize, and a lot of adults surrounding us with drinks in their hands, all of us wearing a silly party hat with the uncomfortable rubber string under our chins.

Directly in front of us (and I wasn't in front because I can still see the row of backs before my eyes) was the confused birthday boy, seated in a high chair, wearing his own silly party hat, with his beaming mother behind him grinning at us all.

Now, I know for a fact that my little brother was seated beside me because it was where I had placed him and held his hand.

However, after we sang Happy Birthday to You! and the boy's parents began to open the gifts, I probably became super-anxious for them to get to our gift, because I lost track of my little brother.

Vintage Fisher Price See n Say

That was, until I heard "The Cow Says Moo-oo!"

A quick glance to my right, and there sat my brother, holding a toy I knew darn well didn't belong to him (or us).

He had managed to slip away, enter the kid's bedroom, rummage through the toy box, and emerge with something that obviously delighted him more than the festivities.

I honestly remember being in shock and then utterly embarrassed by the whole thing, but what stands out most is the whirlwind of adult response that suddenly occurred around me.

I do not remember if I or my brother ended up in tears, but I will never forget how terrified I was, and the feeling of having done something wrong even when I hadn't, and what kind of punishment lay ahead as a result.

The last thing I recall is seeing my mother appear out of nowhere.

In that vast sea of dolled up men in dark trousers, white button downs, and ties, and fashionable women in their pastel-colored, stretch-knit dresses and pearls.

Naturally, mom lifted her son up and into her arms before turning away from the chaos, and the very last thing I remember is the sudden feeling of loneliness before my mind goes completely blank.

Of course, it wasn't until later that I realized my little brother was probably crying his eyes out after having that toy ripped so violently from his tiny hands by the birthday boy's upset mom.

I don't have to ask Ma how she must have felt at that moment, and which might be why I don't recall getting punished that day.

Ma was probably just as upset as I recall being, and if I know her as well as I think, she probably grabbed my hand and left that house in an angry huff.

So, while I do believe parents today go overboard with spoiling and coddling and enabling their children, I also know for a fact that the same can be said of parents doing the exact opposite back in the day.

Although there were just as many spoiled, rotten-to-the-core, ungrateful, and overly selfish kids in my neighborhood and at school to know that some things never change.

But, most people my age should realize how different today's parent behave and treat their children as opposed to the way things were when we were little.

As many really great changes as there are downright appalling changes, right?

To me, it just seems as if the pendulum swung from one extreme to the other when all it really needs to do is land in the center for everything to work out just right.

And while I sometimes wish for a Lobotomy Pill to banish bad memories, I am still grateful that I  retained them in order to help make my children's childhoods a little less sad.

I thank you so much for dropping by to read my post!

Please scroll down to the LinkyLink tool and click on the next in line for this week's Hop and discover what their First Memory is!