Purple giraffes are a mother’s best friend

By Dr. Heather Bozant Witcher
Young Adults, Clarion Herald

A purple giraffe. That was my youngest son’s request for his third birthday.

If nothing else, it was consistent. After his first visit to the zoo, he was fascinated by the giraffes. When he went to daycare, his teacher told me that before nap, she always asked the kids what animal they wanted to be. “Giraffe-e” was, and remains, the reply. Everyone else vacillates between dinosaurs and more adventurous animals; the gentle giraffe remains the faithful reply.

Similarly, his favorite color has always been purple. Before he even knew words or could name his colors, he favored the color. Now, he lights up when he sees something purple and excitedly points and repeatedly calls it out.

The color purple

So, for age 3, we went with purple giraffes. I mixed giraffe prints with purple balloons and purple-hued dinnerware. Our dining room was covered in paper jungle leaves and a large giraffe print hung on the wall. His chair was covered in purple streamers and, instead of a party hat, we donned giraffe headbands.

A month ago, when I reserved the pavilion at the playground for his school friends’ party, I told him that I saved a space there for his birthday. He broke out into a grin and told me, “That makes me happy.”

While he was in daycare, I decorated the house and decorated a purple cake with purple fondant to look like a giraffe. That morning, he had woken up and asked me, “Is it today?” Then, he immediately asked for cake. Of course.

Follow the leader

When he arrived home, I took him out of the car first, having his brothers follow behind him. “I’m the line leader,” he exclaimed, unaware of why he was leading everyone into the house. I watched as his eyes widened and the biggest smile appeared on his face, followed by his cutest laugh. “For me?” and then he noticed his beloved giraffe stuffy wearing a party hat.

A rhetorical question?

A colleague had asked me why I spent so much time and energy putting those things together. A bakery, she had said, would be able to make a giraffe cake. And, yes, at 3, he’s likely not going to remember all of the elements that went into his birthday.

But that look of sheer delight and joy – that’s why I did it. No, the cake didn’t look professional; it was wonky and probably could have used cleaner edges. But it tasted good, and my son’s surprise at finding himself face to face with a purple giraffe was priceless.

Remember the smiles

That night, my husband told me how thankful he was that I had done so much to make our son’s day feel special. “He only had smiles, and they were all directed at you,” he said.

Smiles and laughter. I’ve said it before about my youngest – and it remains true today. No matter where the roads ahead will take you, may you never lose that innate sense of delight and fun.

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