The Birthday Plate

In my mom's cupboard, there is an old red and white, chipped, porcelain plate. It has a pretty pattern which has begun to chip off in some places. Also in red, around the rim, there is a message: "Today's Your Special Day!" Every birthday we could expect to come downstairs to breakfast and have The Plate waiting for us. And for dinner, we'd have our favorite meal (usually lobster for me), specially prepared by mom, and the birthday person would be served on that plate.


I love that plate. My sisters and I have jokingly fought over who would inherit it, but it doesn't really matter; what matters are the memories it brings to mind whenever I see it or remember it. I'm amazed that in all those years of using it and handwashing it (we never had a dishwasher), it has never been dropped or cracked (knock on wood...).

Happily, this year for my birthday, my mom gave me my own Birthday Plate. It's ceramic, which means I don't have to worry about it breaking too easily, and it's very cute. I am so excited to start a Birthday Plate tradition in my own family!



My new plate!