9
Joseph’s Campfire Birthday
Mama sat at the kitchen table with a notepad and pen, scribbling down something. Lily tried to read her notes, upside down. “Joseph will be having his eighth birthday next week,” she explained. “I thought we could build a nice campfire and roast hot dogs and toast some marshmallows. Maybe invite all the relatives.”
What a wonderful idea! A campfire would be just the thing for a boy like Joseph. And it would be even more fun for Lily to have Cousin Hannah there. They could sit next to each other and talk while the boys did whatever boys tended to do.
Mama wrote several notes and sent Lily to deliver them. Each family said yes right away, so Lily was able to bring answers home to Mama.
When Joseph heard about the campfire birthday, he was so happy he couldn’t sit still. He decided to get right to work cleaning up some fallen tree limbs in the yard—something Papa had been meaning to do for a while now. Joseph dragged the branches and made a big pile of them in the barnyard. He was the hardest-working boy in the world. Lily couldn’t help but admire the big pile of wood he had gathered. As big as a bonfire! It would make a fine campfire.
Joseph’s birthday finally arrived. Lily helped Mama frost Joseph’s birthday cake. She watched Mama decorate it: a little log cabin was surrounded by several pine trees and a little creek that ran through the trees. It was beautiful. She couldn’t wait until Joseph saw it, but it was to be a surprise until later tonight. One thing Lily knew—Joseph would be pleased with Mama’s decoration.
Mama asked Lily to find old blankets they used for picnics and to take them outside under a tree. Papa and the boys were starting the campfire. It needed to burn down to have plenty of red embers for roasting hot dogs and toasting marshmallows. Lily looked forward to eating hot dogs—they were a special, once-in-a-while treat. But most of all, she was excited to eat the toasted marshmallows. Those were the best. The very best treat of all.
After everyone arrived, the men started to sharpen sticks to roast the hot dogs. Mama and Aunt Mary scurried around to make sure everyone had a glass of lemonade or water and plenty of hot dogs to roast.
Aunt Susie sat next to Lily and Hannah. They had each eaten one hot dog and were ready to toast marshmallows. Papa had given them each a sharpened stick and showed them how to toast to perfection. One after another after another. Lily was sorry when Mama said they had eaten enough. She would have liked to toast and eat marshmallows all night long.
Papa had gone inside and came back out with several brown paper bags. “It’s time for Joseph’s presents.” He handed the bags to Joseph.
Everyone quieted to watch Joseph pull gifts out of the paper bags. First, he drew out a new shirt and pair of trousers. Next, a shiny new slingshot. Grandpa gave him a book filled with patterns to make birdhouses. “Now that your papa has a woodworking shop, I knew it wouldn’t be long before you want to start building things, too,” Grandpa said. “This should give you something easy to start out with.”
Uncle Elmer’s family gave him a baseball and bat. Uncle Jacob’s family gave him a crisp, new five-dollar bill. Joseph thanked each family, one by one, and then it was time for everyone to go home. Lily sighed happily as she helped Mama clean up. Birthdays were a lot of fun even when they weren’t hers.