42.

Yesterday, I turned 42.  That's a pretty big number.  I'm pleased as punch to be even again.  There's something unsettling about being odd, something... odd.

On the way to school a couple of days ago, we had this conversation -

Me:      You know, Chris, tomorrow's my birthday.
Chris:  Yes, Mommy, it is.  And I think 42 is going to be a very special year for you.
Me:      It is?  Why?
Chris:  Because last year in Marching Band, I was number 42.  Plus, 42 is the secret to the universe, according to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  I don't exactly know what that means, but it must be something cool.

Looking forward to a very special year...

As promised...

I have returned.

At the moment, I am sitting here enjoying the silence.  Most everyone is gone, the radio is turned off, and all I hear is the tapping of my keys and the birds singing outside in the rain through my new storm door/screen that my sister and beloved so sweetly installed for me this weekend.

I'm not sure what to do at the moment, actually.  I started to respond to some e-mails.  I started to update my Facebook page.  I thought about doing some housework. (Notice I didn't say I started!)  But no, I think I will just sit here for a few more moments and let the quiet sink in.  Maybe it will work its way to my overstimulated brain and bring some calm. 

What a summer we've had.  Busy, busy, and we didn't really go anywhere!  This year, everyone came to us.  It was a blessing to have our family around for the past two months, but I have to admit, I'm tired.  I am ready for a regular routine again. 

Plus I eat way too much when we have family come.  And we all know it's their fault.

Well, apparently the pizza has arrived, along with my boys.  The silence will be broken for a bit... but I'll be back!

I *will* return...

... but probably not before September 6th.

Mother of the year

May is a big birthday month for us:  My dad, Robert, Joshua, Christianne - those are just the immediate-ish family.  We also have Jackie, Angelo, another Jackie, Heather, and my Grandma D. 

Poor little Grace pulls up the rear with a June 8th birthday.  Hey, not my fault: I did everything I could to get her to be born in May.

Everything.

But she was stubborn, remember?, holding out until the 8th of June, and even then when I was in labor she refused to come down the eerie canal to see the light and her mother's shining smiling face.  Eventually they got out the big tweezers and grabbed her by the ears and pulled her small head (thanks for that at least!) right out after hours of waiting for her to decide herself to join us.  And then, I think she hated me for the next two weeks because she cried incessantly, but only for me.  After about two weeks it was like she finally figured she was stuck here and began to finally suck it up and deal with it. 

So anyway, our little Grace is just 4 years old, and when you're 4 years old it's hard to celebrate everyone else's birthday... your best friend's, most of your family's... and the waiting has been hard on her.  Often she'd ask, "How many more days?"

Finally I got the bright idea to make a count-down paper chain like kids sometimes do at Christmas.  It would give her a visual image of how long she'd have to wait, help her practice counting, and even practice the days of the week since we wrote each day on each link.  At the top of the chain, the final link reads Happy Birthday Monday!

Yes, Monday.  As in today.

Today, as in June the 6th.  Not June the 8th.

Her birthday is Wednesday.

So a few days ago when I discovered I didn't even have my kid's birthday right on her chain, that I was a few links short (no jabs there, please), I quietly moved it aside and she has lost interest in plucking a paper link off each day. 

Which is good, because today we'd be out of linkage, and there ain't no cake.