Last week was one of the busiest, goofiest, and most ridiculous and fun of my life and I am constitutionally incapable of shutting up about it. Let’s get into.
Shortly after Michael was released in April, I began seeing people tweet photos of mini Michael Jackson dolls and the adventures they took them on. I was instantly obsessed. The dolls are so ridiculous and janky and cute, and the adventures fans took him on were so fun to follow. I considered buying one (all of them), but every time I sat down to, my Childhood Trauma—my father’s ridicule, directed at literally anything I showed even the slightest interest in, especially if was “childish,” which was the worst thing a thing, or person (A CHILD!!), could be)—talked me out of it.
After my trip to the dahlia festival on Michael’s Birthday Eve, I decided I needed to buy at least one, childhood trauma be damned. And so I went home, spent several hours stressing over which to buy, ordered three (a Thriller era, a Bad era, and a History era), and hoped to Michael they’d arrive before September 12, so I could him with me to an event I’d been looking forward to for weeks and weeks and weeks.
The dolls arrived earlier that week and immediately I decided to give Michael a Belated Birthday Week of Whimsy. We kicked things off with a trip to the Swan Island Dahlia Festival, for a proper photo shoot of Michael with the varietals named for him.
He also took photos in a couple of the photo stand-ins, and at a fountain that I didn’t notice during my first visit a few weeks ago. When I heard the water, I hoped hard that there would be a spot to easily pose Michael for a photo—it was just too perfect (iykyk (if ydk, now you do))—and fully died inside when I realized there was and saw the inscription on the bottom rock. Devastating.
On our slow drive out of the dahlia fields, we saw two deer. The first—a piebald!!—meandered out of the rows of flowers, pausing briefly in the road while looking straight at my oncoming vehicle. Once it crossed into the fruit farm next door, a fawn followed. Both deer seemed very calm and unbothered—not at all skittish—and the larger, more protective one held eye contact with me until I broke it.
There’s a strong association in the fandom between Michael and deer, and many fans interpret random deer sightings as visits from Michael. When I saw the deer walk right in front of my car I gasped, exclaimed MICHAEL! as I turned to my right to look at my three Michael dolls on the passenger seat, and promptly began crying. I 10,000% believe that first deer—the one who wouldn’t break eye contact with me; the one with the calm, protective demeanor; the one with the rare genetic condition that gave them white patches among their normal brown coats—was a visit from Michael. I wish I’d gotten a photo. My phone was within reach and my window was down; I could’ve gotten a great shot. But I was so entranced, and anyway there were other vehicles behind me. I drove away stunned.
After the dahlia festival, we stopped at The End of the Oregon Trail Museum. Everyone who knows anything about Michael knows that he loves history and to learn, and my current hyperfixation on the Donner Party Dizazz has me curious about everything even remotely related to their journey, both in general and in specific. Stopping at the museum was a no-brainer.
Actual fun fact: This wagon that Michael’s sitting on has been carbon dated to the 1850s. The hoops and the canvas cover are new, the rest of it is in its original Oregon Trail condition.
The most fun part of the museum: the candle-making station, which Michael took full advantage of and made himself a birthday candle for his birthday treat.
The second-best part: a free honey stick from the gift shop, a reward for completing the scavenger hunt and collecting all the stamps throughout the museum.
For Michael’s birthday treat, we went to Voodoo Doughnut, where they gave him a free doughnut, and where, of course, he had a photo shoot in the photo booth.
On Thursday, we went to the Practical Magic 2 premiere at a local theater.
At the end of the week, we indulged in some self-care: fresh manicures and a massage. We also got in a solid gym session.
When my kids were super young, we began a tradition called Ice Cream for Dinner: Once a month we went to Sweet Frog, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop, and let the kids literally have ice cream (well, frozen yogurt, whatever, it’s spiritually the same thing) for dinner. The tradition ended in 2020 when we began dispersing around the U.S. Last year, my middle child, who lives with me, re-established the tradition. This month’s (pre-scheduled!!) froyo day happened to fall on the Saturday of Michael’s Belated Birthday Week of Whimsy.
His order: cake batter, watermelon sorbet, and milk chocolate frozen yogurt topped with crushed Oreos, mini marshmallows, M&Ms, and sour peach rings.
Saturday evening we both got dressed up to attend the final event of our whimsical week of belated birthday adventures and celebration: a candlelight tribute to Michael’s music and legacy, performed by a local string quartet.
The event was held at The Old Church Concert Hall. I’d never been before. It’s gorgeous! Especially when lit by candlelight (even if the candles are flameless).
The quartet performed 15 songs—14 as part of the main program and one as an encore, following a resounding standing ovation:
- Bad
- Rock With You
- Human Nature
- Billie Jean
- Say Say Say
- We Are the World
- Man in the Mirror
- Smooth Criminal
- Black or White
- Heal the World
- Remember the Time
- Earth Song
- They Don’t Care About Us
- Thriller
- Beat It
There were two other songs on the program that they didn’t end up playing: I Want You Back and The Way You Make Me Feel. My guess is because of time (they sat us late, so the program started late, because one of the musicians was caught in traffic and arrived late). An absolute shame the only Jackson 5 song on the list didn’t get played.
I’m pleased to report everyone I encountered at the show was charmed by Michael and after I took the below photo, many (many!!) people asked me to leave Michael in place so they could take photos with him. Like, to the point that the venue staff asked us all to leave because we were taking too long and they needed to seat the audience for the next show, lol. What did they expect with THEE celebrity in the building!!!!
Honestly, I was worried all week about how people would react to a fully grown woman carrying around mini Michael Jackson dolls. Everyone was so great and seemed to genuinely enjoy playing along, strangers and my friends alike. Truly, the week was so ridiculous and goofy and fun. I’m so so happy I finally ordered these janky little dolls, and that I let myself have this week of whimsy. My inner child is still delighted.
Huge shout out to my friends for letting me spam the fuck out of their inboxes all week.
I made the crowns—quickly!—out of thin glitter card stock from Michaels the morning of our first adventure. The thinness was key. Thicker card stock wouldn’t have been as easy to work with. The two white glitter ones aren’t lined. The gold one is lined with the white glitter card stock. I used Mod Podge as glue for the lined crown. I cut the peaks of the crowns by eye. To avoid damage, I carried them around with us in a small plastic food storage container and took them out only when Michael was posing for photos.