Since my mother's passing, birthdays remind me of how much I miss her. Every year up until my 46th birthday I always knew I'd be receiving a brown-wrapped package from UPS. Inside of the box would be a dress shirt, a bag of candy, and a birthday card from a very special mother.

However, now that Mom is gone I miss this subtle reminder that the world might not know me but there was always a loving mother who'd never forget my special day.

My birthday on Tuesday started out as usual - lousy. I pressure-wahed my car the day before and the books I had signed had gotten wet and I had to quickly replace 4 signed books that were beyond repair. They'd puffed up like yeasty bread.

Fortunately, when I arrived at Eason Elementary, Josh Manning greeted me with enthusiasm and made sure I had eveything I needed for my two speeches. The principal, Peg Erke, had taken the day off and was attending a state basketball play-off game. I was glad for her knowing that she came from a small town and the odds for her home team to have traveled this far to the state basketball playoffs was a miracle!

I spoke in a really nice gym and Josh was a perfect host. The students were really excited and several students had confessed they had read the Principal Park book and loved it. The younger students had dreams of being policemen, football players, and one special girl dreamed of one day becoming a fairy. I noticed her gym shoes had Tinker Bell on them. The older students enjoyed our shadow baseball game and we had ourselves a good time.

I then traveled to Walnut Hills and sat down with a group of students who had earned the right to eat lunch with me. One young boy opted to eat his cheese from his sandwich and the meat from his hamburger but left the bun in tact. One young girl had the perfect lunch - yogourt, a bagel with cream cheese, strawberry milk, and Oreo bites.

After a boxed lunch, I was summoned to read to Mrs. Gilchrist's class. After reading part of the last chapter of my book, I stopped so the students could ask me questions. A young girl asked me, "Dr. Mullen. When is your birthday?"

I paused in my response. I didn't want anyone to know it was birthday. I wanted it to go by unnoticed. But I also knew I couldn't lie so I finally confessed. "Today."

When it was time to speak to the students, I was charged because Becky Pashek - who was instrumental in persuading me to write this Iowa Cubs book through her commitment to support it by getting the Waukee School District involved in having me speak to 5 of her schools - had lined up Cubbie to attend the assembly. Mrs. Pashek played "Take me out to the ball game..." and the students joined in in the celebration.

When Cubbie walked in, the children sang, "Cubbie. Cubbie!" The roar was deafening and the cafeteria where I was to speak had warmed up immediately an additional ten degrees from the explosive energy.

When I asked the younger children their dreams, one young boy who was wheelchair bound responded that he wanted to be a transformer. It struck me and was poignant because if this child could transform his wheelchair then indeed his mechanical wheelchair could become like mechanical legs to help him walk upright. One girl said, "She'd like to end world hunger." What remarkable children!

During our shadow baseball game, Cubbie helped out by holding one baseball stealer on first base for me. I found it amazing how well Cubbie picked up on my cues. We worked well together in our engaging these students.

Then at the end, over 300 students sang "Happy Birthday" to me. I stood there red-faced and it was these students who helped to remind me that my birthday was still special even though Mom was no longer beside me.

After a nice dinner that Mrs. Pashek offered me at Applebees, I returned to the solitude of my hotel room at Heartland Inn. I opened a stuffed envelope filled with birthday cards from the students and the helium birthday balloons glowed neon orange under the room's lighting.

Life can certainly weigh us down. However, on this particular day I was special in these children's eyes. My mom taught me to never fear loving a stranger and in Iowa I have extended this love to many teachers and children and haven't been let down.

Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Becky. Thank you students from Walnut Hills for reminding me that birthdays are indeed special.