Chocolate
pudding is that special meal that reminds me of my birthday. To many people it
is not considered a meal but more of a dessert or a side dish but in my mind it
was considered breakfast. Since I was six years old I would wake up on January
17th every year to a crystal dish filled with chocolate pudding with
a dollop of whip cream on top. This was the meal that my mother would serve me
every year for my birthday.
Since I can remember I would get the
feeling of excitement when I would of walk down the stairs and hanging a sharp
left at the bottom to walk through the dining room and into the kitchen on my
birthday. The long tacky “happy birthday” sign written in metallic alternating
colored letters hung in between the archway with balloons attached to my dad’s
chair at the head of the table. Presents would be strayed across the kitchen
table and my mom would always be standing there with her camera ready to take
the same exact picture every year of me looking ecstatic on my birthday. I
would sit down in my chair with the giant crystal bowl staring me back in the
face with the silver spoon right next to it. My mouth would salivate to the thought
of taking the huge first bite and before I could I would always think about the
conversation my mother and I had when I was in the first grade.
My mom always loved to make
birthdays special whether it was throwing you your favorite party or serving you
your special meal, she always went the extra mile to make it your day. For my
brother she would make him homemade cheesecake every year. For my dad it was
strawberry rhubarb, which he loved even if he acted like he didn’t totally
appreciate it. But when my mother asked me what I wanted for my special meal
when I was in the first grade my instant response was “a big bowl of chocolate
pudding!” My mom never bought food that was super junky or full of
preservatives but I had been on a chocolate pudding kick that week from having
it at a play date and she agreed that I could have it. Now being twenty years
old having a big pile of brown sugary greatness has become a tradition on my
birthday.
Every year until I graduated high
school I could always expect it to look the same and taste the same considering
the fact that it came from the small instant JELLO cardboard boxes. I was
always a simple kid so I never wanted my mom to go through making homemade
pudding for me when I knew that I would always like the kind from the box
better anyway, and trust me she never took that for granted. But as my senior
year of high school rolled around that morning when I turned eighteen I
realized that it would be my last birthday at home for the next four years. I
found comfort in knowing that I could expect the same decorations from last
year and the same crystal bowl waiting for me as I came down the stairs. So
knowing that the next year I would probably wake up to a voice mail from my mom
wishing me a happy birthday and that she wished she could be there to make me
pudding made me sad a little. But I did not let this sentimental thought take
away from my last birthday at home in the slightest bit, and I should have
known that when it came to my mother I should never worry about being
disappointed.
January of my freshman year rolled
around and so did my birthday. Knowing that things were different and that I
wasn’t about to run down the stairs and into the kitchen like I would at home,
I felt out of place. But I should have had more faith in my mother and her
kindness. I opened my bedroom door at the sorority house and walked down the
front stair case which led to the kitchen. I turned the corner to find my best friend
sitting at the large table in the dining room with a bowl of chocolate pudding.
I instantly felt tears filling up in my eyes as I tried so desperately to not
let them fall. I sat down at the table with my best friend Olivia who was from
my hometown who knew about my birthday tradition. Olivia
had called my mom to make sure that she got the right kind of chocolate pudding
to make sure that I would have the best birthday. She knew that it was something that meant a
lot to me and she wasn’t going to let the fact that I was away from my mom
stand in the way of me having my special meal on my birthday.
Something as simple
as chocolate pudding on my birthday can make me smile from ear to ear. The
memories that the instant four minute dessert has brought me over the years
would be something I would remember for a lifetime. And even when I went
through a life changing experience by going off to college this tradition on my
birthday made me feel like I was sitting at home staring at the tacky
decorations and the presents covering the kitchen table. That moment when I
took the first bite that day brought me back to sitting down at the table with
my mom while I would eat every last bit of the creamy mouthwatering treat out
of the crystal bowl. Not only was chocolate pudding one of the simpler aspects
of my life it was one that would last a life time and carry so much meaning
along with it.
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