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hero_farmboyClark has never been a big fan of birthdays. He supposes that's simply due to a combination of not knowing exactly when his birthday is along with his parents being too cautious to let him have real parties while he was growing up. Of course, he didn't really have any friends to invite anyway, aside from Pete, but he didn't meet him until they were six.
Pete's family made a pretty big deal out of them. After all, there were five Ross kids, so it was to be expected. Clark doesn't know what happened at any of those parties, however, because he wasn't allowed to go to those, either. At least not until he was in Junior high and by then, he and Pete had decided birthdays just weren't cool anyway, so they didn't do anything more than order pizza and play video games at the Ross' house.
It's not that in his 21 years Clark has never celebrated a birthday. There were always presents and a cake, but it was just him and his parents. It didn't make much sense when he was younger, but he understands it now, and he's okay with it. Usually. There was also his sixteenth birthday, which Lana made pretty special by surprising him in his loft with a cake and... a present of her own. That had been a good birthday.
It was his nineteenth that was the hardest. Lois decided to throw him a surprise party. He had a feeling that his mom and Chloe had tried to talk her out of it, but once Lois gets something into her head, it's hard to change her mind. His dad had passed away a mere three months prior and Clark wasn't feeling exactly festive, but he knew Lois had good intentions. She even made him a rum cake. The goats loved it. Over all, it was a quiet affair, what with Lois, Chloe and his mom being the only guests, which he'll give Lois credit for; she knew enough not to go overboard.
The part that made it difficult was the gift. Not Lois', which was actually kind of thoughtful, but the one his mom found in his dad's desk: Baseball tickets. Not just any tickets, but seats right behind home plate for a game in Milwaukee. Clearly, his dad had been planning a road trip for the two of them to do a little father-son bonding, a road trip they'd never be able to take, now.
It hit Clark harder than he thought it would, imagining not just what that trip would have been like, but everything he'd have to do for the rest of his life without his father, all the important adult milestones. Something he hadn't allowed himself to deal with until then. It might not have been a present he would have ever hoped for, but in the long run he supposes it was one he needed.
Pete's family made a pretty big deal out of them. After all, there were five Ross kids, so it was to be expected. Clark doesn't know what happened at any of those parties, however, because he wasn't allowed to go to those, either. At least not until he was in Junior high and by then, he and Pete had decided birthdays just weren't cool anyway, so they didn't do anything more than order pizza and play video games at the Ross' house.
It's not that in his 21 years Clark has never celebrated a birthday. There were always presents and a cake, but it was just him and his parents. It didn't make much sense when he was younger, but he understands it now, and he's okay with it. Usually. There was also his sixteenth birthday, which Lana made pretty special by surprising him in his loft with a cake and... a present of her own. That had been a good birthday.
It was his nineteenth that was the hardest. Lois decided to throw him a surprise party. He had a feeling that his mom and Chloe had tried to talk her out of it, but once Lois gets something into her head, it's hard to change her mind. His dad had passed away a mere three months prior and Clark wasn't feeling exactly festive, but he knew Lois had good intentions. She even made him a rum cake. The goats loved it. Over all, it was a quiet affair, what with Lois, Chloe and his mom being the only guests, which he'll give Lois credit for; she knew enough not to go overboard.
The part that made it difficult was the gift. Not Lois', which was actually kind of thoughtful, but the one his mom found in his dad's desk: Baseball tickets. Not just any tickets, but seats right behind home plate for a game in Milwaukee. Clearly, his dad had been planning a road trip for the two of them to do a little father-son bonding, a road trip they'd never be able to take, now.
It hit Clark harder than he thought it would, imagining not just what that trip would have been like, but everything he'd have to do for the rest of his life without his father, all the important adult milestones. Something he hadn't allowed himself to deal with until then. It might not have been a present he would have ever hoped for, but in the long run he supposes it was one he needed.
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ooc
Date: 2008-12-29 03:37 pm (UTC)Hee. I am deeply suspicious of those goats only existing for the sake of one joke.
OOC
Date: 2008-12-30 12:56 am (UTC)she takes offense to that. I, however, am surprised.