Spring Birthday Party, 2019

As we officially entered the vernal equinox, I emerged from my cave, where I spent a restful winter torpor. I'm a bear who’s chosen to NOT live in the wild, so my hibernal rhythm has remained unaffected by climate change - I follow the Gregorian calendar and have set an annual Google reminder, alerting me when it’s time to to 'snap out of it' and get into my spring activities and routines. To observe this yearly transition, and to exploit any opportunity to party, Mousie has ordained March 21st my birthday… in reality, any memory of when, or where, I was born/fabricated remains somewhere in the ether of unconsciousness.

Can you tell that Mousie did the decorating?

The apron has some decent sized pockets and a detachable velcro neck strap, so no adjustments should be necessary this time around. However, I might ask Mousie to change the love-heart teddy graphic to something more MY style.

Mousie kicked off this spring’s birthday celebration with decorating and party hats. Gifting soon followed, as Mousie gave me a Build-a-Bear Workshop tool apron. With the exception of this shop’s enormous shoe sizes, most of their wears seem to fit me pretty well, though I often need Mousie to custom tailor their clothes so they’ll accommodate my abnormally large noggin.

For dinner, I ordered a personal pizza online, and, in spite of a ravenous post-torpor appetite, I managed to share a couple of slices with our teddy pals - at Mousie organized celebrations, there are usually guests :P

As we ate together in front of the television, we took in my favorite series: Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, by Carl Sagan. What more could a bear ask for? I’LL tell you what else: CHOCOLATE! Fortunately, Mousie did not disappoint, as she presented me with a batch of homemade chocolate ’Bear’ cakes for dessert.

Above right: The gang watching the Cosmos and enjoying the 'Bear' cakes that Mousie made.

Though the cakes were apparently iced in my image... which I found just slightly disturbing, Teddy Yeti thought they were ‘Space Yeti’ (i.e., Chewbacca) cakes. Looking more closely at Mousie’s icing job, I could understand how Teddy Yeti might have had this impression.

Above right: Mousie ran out of small eyes and had to use big eyelash eyes for the remaining undecorated cakes. She insisted on adding a 'touch of rouge' to complete their fabulous look.

Social gatherings can be overwhelming for a bear emerging from a torpor. After a few hours, I was jet lagged, and full of pizza and chocolate cake stuffs. Mousie understood my need for a restful, isolated slumber. All in all, I’d say this year’s birthday was a success. Good work, Mousie!

The morning after: As I awoke with birthday party hangover, I could see Mousie had been encouraging ‘Bear’ cake sharing with the humans. I was promptly relieved to discover that she had a second batch stashed away just for me!