I was having trouble brainstorming for this assignment. I was confused by what was being asked of us. After reading the two stories in class tonight I had a few ideas. The way we dissected the title and what the true meaning of the essay was I was given an idea for the essay. I never thought of writing this story but I finally found a way to make it mean something. I think it has a clear focus and a meaningful take away. I also focused on the one word in my title such as the two stories we read in class did. I just hope that it is clear what I am trying to convey.
The birthday wish
It was my 12th birthday.
My dad asked me what I wanted. Just like all of the other girls my age, I
wanted a sleepover party. Low on cash and working two jobs to pay the bills my
dad was hesitant. Considering our situation for the last few years I still can’t
believe he agreed to let me have a party. He said I could invite four girls to
sleep over and we could set up our sleeping bags in the living room. I begged
for pizza, snacks, and rented movies. He said he would do his best.
We couldn’t afford the nice
invitations my friends handed out so I took some pink construction paper from
the art room at school and made invitations. With my Crayola markers and a pen
I wrote my address, the date and time. I picked my four closest friends at school
and handed them the cards for my party.
We were all excited and we debated
on which movies to rent and what candy to buy. As the weekend drew closer we
couldn’t wait to gossip about boys and the other girls in our middle school.
Friday, the day before my party one
of the girls came up to me after class. She told me that she couldn’t make it.
I asked why and she said her mom wouldn’t let her. I asked her what happened
that her mother wouldn’t let her come to my house. She said that when her
mother asked who would be supervising the party and she gave the answer her
mother wasn’t happy. All she told her was that she couldn’t go. I stood in the
hallway confused as to why this was. I told her it was ok and we walked side by
side to the cafeteria for lunch.
Saturday had arrived and the
anticipation was relentless. I couldn’t wait for my friends to arrive. That
morning my dad and I stopped by Blockbuster to rent Josie and the Pussycats. It
was everyone’s favorite movie at the time. We planned to order pizza from our
favorite place and we had stopped at Shoprite to get fruit punch, candy and
popcorn. I had cleaned the house and my little brother was set to sleep over
his friend’s house. I told the girls to come over at 7.
My first two friends showed up
right on time. We decided to order the pizza and hope that my third friend would
come soon. The phone rang, but I was too busy setting up my friends sleeping
bags in the living room. My dad answered the call. He spoke for about five
minutes when he hung up. I skipped into the kitchen to find him sitting at the
kitchen table. He asked me to sit down with him. He explained to me that he was
just on the phone with my third friend’s mother, she wouldn’t be coming. I
asked why and he told me that it had nothing to do with me but that she couldn’t
make it. I could see in his eyes that he was lying but I decided to let it go.
We had a great time that night. The
sugar from the candy and fruit punch kept us up late giggling and sharing
secrets. We watched the movie three times in a row and slept in until their
parents came to pick them up. It almost didn’t matter that there was just three
of us because we had so much fun. When I saw the girls in school on Monday we reminisced
about the sleepover and told the other girls all about what they missed. They
were sad but we never held it against them.
Years later I talked to one of the
girls who didn’t come to my sleepover. She admitted that she heard her parents
arguing the night of my party. She didn’t understand it then but now she did.
She told me that her mother was talking about how her daughter wasn’t going to
spend the night in a house where the
mother was a runaway drunk and the father was too busy working to show up to
school functions. She wasn’t even sure if her daughter should be friends with
me due to the bad influence I would become. We were now in high school so it
felt so far in the past but I looked at my pregnant friend and I said
thanks for finally telling me why she couldn’t come to my party.
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My first thought when you said that your one friend couldn't come to your party was that her parents didn't want her in a house where there was only a man and not a woman, too, like he was some kind of pediphile or something. Not knowing your situation, I surmised it had something specific to do with your father, as there is no mention of a mother doing anything for your party. The parents who thought your father was working too much and didn't have time to attend school functions must be independently wealthy and/or self-employed if they think every employer allows parents time off to do that. Nowadays, especially, both parents work, so who's to say whether your mother would even have had time to attend school functions, if she was in the picture and was also a working parent. They were judging your father in the wrong way. He was doing what was best for your family. I admire that!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that you were able to figure out the context of the piece. I wanted the reader to get it without me shouting that my dad was being judged for being a single father. Growing up I got this a lot. People are used to the idea of a deadbeat dad and a struggling single mom. But when it is the other way around people find it hard to understand the situation. He has always done his best, thanks for seeing that!
DeleteI immediately knew what the problem was: single dad, no woman to watch over the girls. That infuriates me. Sorry that happened. I'm sure your dad was hurt. But your dad came out on top when your friend got pregnant in high school. The ultimate FU!
ReplyDeleteI knew right away it had to do with your dad and that made me so mad. But at least you were able to make the best out of it and have fun with your friends that did come! It's crazy how people will judge without truly knowing people. You obviously turned out to be a GREAT person! loved this story & the message
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading it, I knew what the problem was, but I had yet to put my finger on a few questions I had. The story really came together for me as I read on. It has a nice affect of making you wonder until the end.
ReplyDeleteI understood the issue at hand in your piece. I thought you captured your points very well. Your last paragraph seemed crucial. I was hanging on until I had some sort of answer. I thought it had a nice twist at the end.
ReplyDelete