We always made our children feel special when it was their birthday. The birthday person would not have to do their daily chores on their birthday. Such as, not having to make their bed, dump trash or  do the dishes. The birthday person would also choose what meals they wanted that day. Not what I had planned for dinner.

My children knew that what meals I prepared was what you got. No complaining, you just had to deal with it. So this was a  big deal to to be able to select what you wanted. The birthday person really enjoyed selecting what the entire family was going to have for dinner.

When our granddaughters were living with us I followed the same tradition. Since my granddaughters birthdays were during the school year,  they really thought that was special. to celebrate their birthday with their classroom I  made cupcakes for the entire classroom. They cold hardly wait to take the cupcakes to school, so they could share the special day with their teacher and classmates.

It’s simple things that made my granddaughter’s birthdays special when their mom was deployed.