Felt – Birthdays October 14, 2009

For me, birthdays carry special meaning. They symbolize new beginnings, new opportunities, and responsibilities being presented in someone’s life. For the little mermaid, the day of her fifteenth birthday was the day she was finally able to go above the sea. It was then that she saw the prince for the first time, who was also celebrating his sixteenth birthday. I thought my fifth birthday was going to present me with the chance to ride a pony in my backyard, but instead I had the opportunity to learn to roll with the punches and watch my mother handle a crisis with grace and skill.  

 

The Storm of the Century – Part 1 October 7, 2009

“In the early morning hours of Saturday, March 13, 1993, the ‘Storm of the Century’ hit Florida’s West Coast with awesome fury. Hurricane-strength winds and a tidal surge as high as 12 feet in some places swamped houses, smashed cars, scooped up furniture, appliances and boats.” - The St. Petersburg Times

The article refers to the No-Name Storm, and the date of March 13th, 1993 was the day of my 5th Birthday.

I woke up early that morning and put on my party dress. It was a teal cowgirl dress with lots of fringe. I wanted to wear a cowgirl dress because there was going to be a pony at my birthday, and I wanted to look the part.

My mom had me step out on the front porch with her. I saw that our front yard was completely flooded. Water came all the way up to the bottom step of our house (my house is build-up high on a hill, so for water to be on the bottom set meant that the water was a few feet deep on the road). My mom told me that the pony could not come to our house today, and that we would have my party on another day. Happy Birthday to me…