Beacon 9-21

September 2021 THE BEACON Page 9A
By Mary-Alice Helms
The Perfect Birthday Gift
A glance at the calendar
confirmed what I already
knew. It was just a week until
my beloved great-grandson’s
birthday, and I hadn’t a clue
what to get him as a gift. The
first shock was that I had so
little time left in which to
find just the right thing, and
the second was that I am old
enough to have an elevenyear-old
great-grandson!
Where was that adorable
little toddler who giggled
at pictures in storybooks,
or the little boy who played
“cars” with me on the floor?
I remembered the hours we
spent, carefully arranging a
“town”, using the houses from
my ceramic Christmas village.
The pattern on my dining
room rug made perfect roads
for our tiny cars to travel. Oh,
the stories we made up as we
“drove” from house to house,
making the appropriate engine
noises. Often there was the
need for the miniature ambulance
or fire truck to make a
run to one of the houses. I’m
surprised that the neighbors
didn’t investigate the unlikely
sounds made during those
“emergency runs”. I’m sure
that a little boy’s high-pitched
soprano siren coupled with
the old-lady imitation of a
honking horn was somewhat
startling in the middle of a
quiet afternoon.
Well, toy cars and trucks
certainly wouldn’t fit the
bill now. I couldn’t even
pronounce the names of the
games the kids play on their
computers these days. Nor am
I the least bit familiar with the
fantastic creatures and heroes
with mega-powers which
people their world. Occasionally
there is the distinctly
Hoosier sound of a basketball
bouncing on concrete in our
neighborhood. While it is
much more common to hear
the wheels of a skateboard, it
is even more likely to hear no
kid sounds at all. It seems kids
all are huddled around some
sort of electronic devices in
their houses. Even if I happen
to spot a kid walking on the
sidewalk or riding his bike
in the street, he has his cell
phone glued to his ear. Where
are the sounds of kids playing
outside? I miss the screams
and laughter and yes, even the
arguments. However, dwelling
on such thoughts was doing
nothing toward helping me
solve my dilemma. What was
I going to give Ben for his
birthday?? I could take the
easy route, and give him a gift
card or cash, but that seems so
cold and impersonal to me. I
know, kids like to have their
own money to spend but I like
to give them something that
they know actually came from
me, and that I picked out for
them.
I tried thinking about what
our own kids wanted for their
birthdays when they were
Ben’s age. Weeks before the
big day was due to arrive,
they began making strong
hints about some special toy
or game they had in mind. I
remember when one of them
got a tape recorder (a what??)
and they spent hours making
their own “radio shows”, complete
with some pretty clever
commercials. I can remember
some card games and board
games they liked. And they
spent a lot of time outdoors.
We never had much money for
extras, but it didn’t seem hard
to find gifts that they would
The Perfect Birthday Gift
like. Back then gifts were in
a much lower price range in
our family and often tended
toward the practical.
In the middle of my reminiscing,
the obvious solution
stared at me from my desktop…the
internet! The internet
has everything, doesn’t it? I
typed in “gifts for eleven-yearold
boys”. Oh, my. There were
pages of suggestions, ranging
from paint sets (in which Ben
would have no interest) to unpronounceable
games, videos,
and puzzles, most of which I
had no idea existed. There was
a “Science Discovery Kit”,
which sounded great until I
spotted the price, $259.00. Just
a bit outside my budget. There
were key chains (key chains
for eleven-year-olds who are
5 years away from getting a
beginner’s license? Isn’t that
a bit premature?) a “personalized
slime kit” (Ewww!) and
something called a “Puppy
School”. Since he doesn’t
even own a dog, that didn’t
sound appropriate. When I
found one called “Backyard
Ballistics,” promising “even
more explosives” I hit “delete”.
No explosives!
Admitting defeat, I faced
the inevitable and called
Ben’s mom, Melissa, asking
for suggestions. She named a
particular book
that promised
to show the
reader ways to
win his favorite
video game,
“Mind something-or-other”.
I promptly
ordered a copy.
When it arrived
a day or two
later, I was
surprisingly impressed.
It was a large tome,
rather scholarly appearing,
actually. I thought it looked
incredibly boring. It just didn’t
have the pizzazz I wanted in
the perfect gift. It would be
fine as a part of his gift, but
I wanted something a little
more….personal. Sighing, I
gave up and decided to take a
look at my Facebook page for
the day.
As I scrolled through posts
and messages, one photo
jumped out at me. A former
student and long-time friend
of mine had posted some
pictures of t-shirts she had
been making and selling. A T-
shirt! Of course! What a great
birthday gift; a t-shirt with a
logo and Ben’s name on it. All
kids like t-shirts, don’t they?
I immediately contacted my
friend, and she assured me that
she could get a shirt with my
specifications made in time for
the big birthday. She sent me
some pictures, and I ordered
the shirt. I could hardly wait
until it arrived. I was delighted
when I saw the finished product.
It definitely was quality,
very soft in a lovely shade of
blue. The logo was Roblox
and featured brightly-colored
cartoonish characters encircling
the drawing of a boy’s
face. He looked remarkably
like Ben. Under the logo “
BEN” stylishly was printed in
large letters. I thought it was
great and happily wrapped it
with the book.
The next day at the birthday
party I watched with growing
trepidation as Ben opened
his gifts which included quite
a stack of lovely presents
from parents, grandparents,
sister, and aunts. There was a
growing mountain of electronics
and expensive school
clothes. Ben crowed happily
over each gift. I felt my little
package growing smaller
and smaller. Near the end of
the pile of gifts, the birthday
boy tore open my present
and thanked me for the book.
Then he let out a whoop of
joy. “Look, Mom”, he cried,
holding up the t-shirt, “It’s
Roblox..and it has my name
on it! Thanks, MeMom!”
With that he jumped up and
left the room, returning a few
minutes later, wearing a huge
smile and the blue t-shirt. “I
changed for the evening!” he
announced.
I felt as if I had finally found
the perfect gift. Not because
of the gift, itself, but because
Ben knew that it had been
made just for him and was
given to him by someone who
loves him very much.
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