Making A Wish

Though I’ve been celebrating all month, of course, today is my actual birthday. Hence, the prompt of “Cake” as a not-so-subtle way to celebrate with even more cake today through your lovely sketches! My own sketch is not my actual birthday cake, as I made this post a bit early and Philippe hadn’t created it yet. I’m not quite sure what it’s going to be and I’m excited to find out! So instead, I sketched this one entirely from my own imagination and offered it up to him as a possible recipe. Since there’s just the two of us to celebrate today, I don’t think I’ll be getting all five layers, but it was fun to dream! Also, I opted for just one candle to signal that this is indeed a birthday cake as putting on all of the candles required to count my age would have completely obscured the cake and turned it into a fire hazard. But, it only takes one candle to make a proper wish, so that’s all I really need.

There’s not going to be a party of any kind, since that’s not allowed these days. But, that’s really not too different than usual. I stopped having parties after my 40th birthday. It was a huge party and I actually didn’t recognize many of the guests, since I just sent out a blanket Facebook invite and waited to see who would show up. Whoever some of them were, they were all quite nice, so it was a lovely birthday bash indeed. Since that time, it’s really only been Philippe and I on my birthday, along with our dog Phineas who spends the entire evening irritated that he wasn’t served a slice of cake. Since we like to talk for him, we assume he thinks that any special occasion is about him and is thinking, “Oh wow, it’s my birthday today!” Any attempts to explain the true nature of the situation are simply met with a series of coarse sneezes to express his extreme displeasure.

This is a very different time today and certainly memorable as it’s the first time I’ve ever had a birthday in the middle of a quarantine lockdown. And while I thought this might end up being a touch depressing, it’s turned out to be as wonderful as every other year. The main difference this year, of course, is that my lunches with friends have turned into toasts with wine over video chats. This won’t last forever. So, I’m simply happy for the simple things in life, like that cake that I’ll be enjoying later. Philippe and I will have a lovely dinner with a champagne toast as the dog looks on disapprovingly. Everything is still wonderful as long as we’re safe at home, healthy, and happy. Though, when I blow out that candle this year, I’ll have thoughts in my mind that will extend far beyond simply myself. I’ve no idea if dreams made like this can actually come true, but I’ll be thinking of one for all us this year as I once again find myself closing my eyes and making a wish.

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Charlie O'Shields

Creator of Doodlewash®, founder of World Watercolor Month (July), World Watercolor Group™, and host of the Sketching Stuff Podcast. Sharing daily watercolor illustrations and stories while proudly featuring talented artists from all over the world! If you’d like to be a guest artist on Doodlewash.com, contact me!

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