There's this tiny, tini little girl, one I used to know, who had blonde hair with little red paintbrushes on the end. She felt really big, today she was a whole TWO years old. It was her very own birthday and she was very excited to know that Dad and Mom had a present just for her. It was a big secret. She had heard her big sisters whispering about the surprise for Tini late at night when she was supposed to be sleeping, tucked up nice and warm in the middle of the bed.
She waited and waited, oh, ever so long for her big, strong Daddy who called her his very own Honey Bunch to get home from work. When he did, she felt all jumpy and excited and kind of scared. She had a hard time eating her supper, even if it was her favorite. A friend was there too. His name was Alex, and he was very big and very strong and young and the little girl had an idea that he was a very nice man. The kind that big girls dream about with sparkly eyes.
He helped the surprise by blocking the door to the porch with his solidness and the little girl cried, worried that she wasn't getting a present at all. She sulked, that naughty little girl, she didn't want to wait any more for that surprise. Then, oh joy of joys!, her Daddy said, "Ok, Honey Bunch, come out and see! Happy Birthday!" And there----in front of all her family on that big porch, was a brand new SHINY RED TRICYCLE of her very own!
And what do you think that little girl did? Why, she hopped right on that tricycle and peddled as very hard as she could and raced past all her family. She almost went right off the porch, pell mell, down the stairs to the concrete! Her big brother caught her and the whole family laughed and laughed at how thrilled the little girl was, that she forgot there was an edge to the porch. And for the first time, the little girl laughed right along with them....and she felt loved.
Years later, when that little girl was grown up with children of her own, she found a picture from that birthday. She had always thought she was four or five on that birthday, but it was written very blackly on the bottom of the polaroid that she was two. She remembered that birthday so very clearly that it must have a big deal to have something of her own to chase after her big brothers and sisters with. And she told this story to her little girls and boy.
