HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR DEREK....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

Yes, today is Derek's 30th birthday. Technically, he'll be 30 in 6 minutes from right now. When we were little, we made a big deal about what time we were born; Derek was born at 4:30 in the morning so by the time he woke up, he was officially his new age. I was born at 4:45 in the afternoon so I had to wait. I hate waiting.

As a family, we've always been big on birthdays. Parties, presents, the whole works. When Derek was getting ready to turn either 4 or 5, Mom deciced to buy him a goldfish for his birthday. Of course, there was no way to go buy the fish without Derek coming with us...the pet store by our house closed early and Dad worked during the day. So, Mom did what she had to do. She took Derek with her & I to the pet store.

"Hi, can I help you," the eager young sales clerk asked as we walked in.

"I'd like to buy a G-O-L-D-F-I-S-H for his B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y, please," Mom told him, thinking that this way, Derek would still be surprised. I'm sure she had a way to get around taking the fish home so he wouldn't think it was for him. However, SHE was the one who got surprised. Derek looked up at her and said "I'm getting a goldfish for my birthday?!!?"

I know everyone in the store just stared, mouths agape, mom most of all. She didn't even know he could spell! What a way to find out! So Derek got his fish...we got, two: Blackie & BlackTip. We weren't that creative in naming our pets back then. Both fish had black marks on them, hence their names. They didn't last too long...I remember the night they passed on to the giant fishbowl in the sky...we were getting ready to go out to dinner and as we were uncerimoniously flushing the fish, Derek said, "Too bad we're going to Three Thieves tonight...we could have had fish." Cold-hearted boy! And HE'S the favorite???

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