Today is “one of our guys” Robert’s birthday. He’s 48 today. A few days ago I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, because everyone should have the cake of their choice on their birthday. Robert didn’t waste any time in telling me that he wanted a 7-Up cake, just like the one his mother use to make. (Robert’s mother died when he was 4). So after searching the internet for the recipe, I set out the make this cake that required a pound of butter and 5 eggs.

While making this cholesterol ridden cake, I started thinking about how many birthday cakes we have all had and I wonder how many of them that we may have taken for granted. Here’s a homeless man and this is a cake that will bring back memories of a happier time in his life.  It was such a simple request to fill. 

Today Robert got to have his cake along with candles and a gift. My husband said the look on Roberts face while we sang happy birthday was just like a little kid’s. Robert was beaming.

After all the Happy Birthdays and Happy New Year’s wishes, I told Robert that the year he was born had to be one of the happiest New Year beginnings that his mother had. Think about it - what a better way to start a new year, and what a better way to come into this world than on the day the rest of the world looks at as a new beginning.

After opening his gift, having two pieces of cake and glasses of milk it seemed that no one was ready for the afternoon to end. So we decided to play dominos. Here we are 4 people (two of which are homeless) sitting at their camp - two people sitting on the edge of a planter and the other two sitting on Pepsi crates with a wooden crate and a piece of cardboard serving as our table. The day was beautiful, a clear sky and plenty of sunshine; I don’t think you could ask for a more perfect day.

Today was our day to make one person feel like his birthday mattered and I hope we did that. With the exception of being in their homeless camp, if you think about it, it seemed like so many other birthday parties that we have all been to at some time. There was cake, candles, a gift, and games outside. But this birthday was more than that, this was a party where people have become a family (of sort) by choice not by birth.

When we left Robert had a smile on his face and hopefully a few more memories of a happy time.

As for my husband and me, once again we reaped the rewards of this special day.