So … last Saturday morning, I was up early and out to the farmer’s market to pick up some goodies for our birthday celebration with Sammy.  He picked up on the fact that Friday was the big day pretty quickly and when Pete picked him up he started asking about his birthday balloons, presents, and cupcakes.  We had the presents covered and, although we hadn’t anticipated getting any, it was a pretty easy task to run by the party store for some shiny Mylar balloons.

I knew I’d need a little help with all the tasks, so I rolled Ben out of bed to go along with me and be my muscle.  He was a great help – carried the bags at the market while I collected Sam’s cake from the gluten free bakery that has a booth there every Saturday.  I had even planned ahead, ordering the cake the week before when we were there.  We collected our goods and hopped back in the van to head to Whole Foods to pick up a few last grocery items.

About half way there (Whole Foods is on the other side of town – technically in a different town – from where we live.  Despite my best email efforts to convince the corporate office that they would make a killing if there was one on this side of town, they’ve politely declined my suggestion each time.  Point being … it’s a pain in the rear to have to haul ourselves across town each time we need to go … so half way there isn’t just a skip from home), Ben asked me if he could check out what the cake looked like.  I’d been in such a hurry to get on with our tasks that I hadn’t opened the box once I picked it up. 

Didn’t see any harm in that, so I told him to be careful picking it up, but to go ahead and take a peek.

It was a perfectly lovely cake that said

Yep.  That’s right.  Happy Birthday Jason.

We went back to discover that Jason’s mom had already been by to pick up his cake that did, indeed, say “Happy Birthday Sammy.”  The bakery owner offered to fix it after she was done at the market at noon, but that was when everyone was going to be at our house to celebrate.  And it’s not like we could have run to the store to find another yummy gluten-free, casein-free birthday cake before noon, so we decided this was one of those times to be thankful for what we have … and that Sam can’t yet read.  We figured everyone else was old enough to understand and, even if we’d told Sam the name was wrong, he wouldn’t really get it anyway.  (We learned, however, that Jason was turning 20 and would certainly get it.  Here’s hoping he had a sense of humor.) 

We all made jokes about it and wished Jason a happy birthday, too, while we were enjoying the cake. 

A few hours later, Sam was riding around the kitchen on his new Lightening McQueen scooter.  After several laps around the island, he stopped, looked at me, and said “It’s Jason’s birthday.  Happy Birthday Jason!” 

It may have been a tad delayed in coming, but I think we’ll need to start watching what we say in front of Sam.  No telling what he’s actually getting these days. 

And I can’t tell you how thankful I am for that.