Reason #76509 my kid is awesome

In high school a friend of mine said I reminded her of a quote, that I "keep my jubilee within easy reach." At the time I thought it was a nice way to say I'm an easy audience. It takes absolutely nothing to make me laugh. Today though, I noticed the loveliest thing about my kid. She has a laugh bubbling just below the surface at any given moment and she isn't shy about letting it out. Often something mildly amusing will occur and everyone will maybe nod a little, or the corners of their mouths will curl a tiny bit, but my kid will give an actual laugh. Small, but there. I watch her profile as her cheeks rise and the dimples curve in. Today I noticed she will laugh instead of simply acknowledging something is joyful and it reminded me of what Cathy said our senior year. And I am so delighted to understand what she meant now, and to know that my kid too, keeps her jubilee within easy reach.

Preaching to the Choir

It's often made clear that I married exactly the right guy for me, and totally the wrong guy for me. This morning is a prime example. I woke up with a rant fully formed in my subconscious. I was ready to leap onto a soapbox and preach. I had examples, evidence, analogies, and volume in the hopper. One sentence in I get, "You're preaching to the choir."
Dammit! No argument stopper is more effective than not having an argument. I was hot to discuss the evils of Black Friday. How yes, everyone wants to give their child that magical Christmas morning with piles of packages and overflowing stockings. How we all want to demonstrate to our families that we love them by lavishing them with gifts. But really, I would rather gift my child with an independence from consumerism. I wish for her an economy that isn't split between benefiting the wealthiest top earners at the expense of the entire rest of the country. I want more than anything for her not to live in a nation where capitalist corporations dictate legislation.
I woke up thinking about the Occupy protesters. They have been camping outside, being randomly arrested and pepper sprayed, to make the point that 1% of our national population have acquired an insane majority of the wealth of our country and are abusing the power it has accrued for them. Then, come the day after Thanksgiving, a flood of shoppers rushes into that very system and fortifies it, reinforces it, proves the power that those corporations hold and that they do indeed, have us exactly where they want us. We will grumble about it, but they can do anything the hell they want and we will take it. There are the 1% reaping all the benefit of our system, the 1% trying to change it, and the 98% keeping it running exactly as it always has.
Before I can rage about any of this he pipes in with, "You're preaching to the choir." Really? Yeah, I'm glad we hold this foundational belief in common, but really? You can't let me screech for a while? You know how happy hyperbole makes me.

Acting! Genius!

There are no small roles, only small actors. I think my Trueby may have rocked both today. If you haven't seen a Missoula Children's Theater production yet, get yourself to one. Aces. They roll in on Monday, audition and cast the roles, and Saturday...boomski! A whole freakin play! The Trube loves it, she's been looking forward to this week since early July.

 The play this time was Snow White and my girl (the small actor)  was cast as a skunk (the small role.) Seriously the cutest thing on legs.

  I know my bias is so staggering that I would probably campaign her for a Tony, but really...look at the cheeks! She had a lovely time. They run on and off stage, have a few songs and a couple lines. Love it. There were just under 60 kids and they did two shows. Aunt Jessica and cousin Leila came up to see the matinee which was nutty exciting.

Super fun to watch Leila's eyes grow ginormous with all the weird lighting, costumes and people yelling on stage. She dug it. What a happy baby! Between shows we went to dinner and the kiddo got to explain to all the servers why she was wearing face paint. Added bragging bonus!

 

 So she doesn't get a Tony, but she was totally content with some diva flowers and ice cream at Mallard's afterward. She's a star I tells ya!

Road Rash

She finally let me take a picture! Kinda had to trick her a little bit though. So, Sunday night there was a giant commotion of screaming and crashing and burning rubber...well, not that last, but still. The Trube laid herself out on her bike, face first and skidding on asphalt, and good lord what a mess! Her buddy had been riding behind her and went down in the wreckage but only hit palms and knees. My girl came in so bloody is was like a horror movie. Her lips are all cut up inside, front tooth knocked loose, elbow and knee are literally oozing through the super giant band aids we had to go buy to cover the massive skin grafts. It was so awful! She's still gimping and stiff but recovering. I've been DYING to take pictures but she wasn't having it. She's totally embarrassed that her face looked like ground beef. This is bugging her a lot because today she went to daycamp and she said everyone is going to ask what happened and she'll be embarrassed by all the attention and feel bad. So I suggested we make a T-shirt she can wear to explain it, and that way no one will need to ask. She loved the idea and I got to take a picture of the shirt without her cursing my camera! Win win!

 

I'm Unable to Bash a Squirrel in the Head With a Shovel

This weekend I was helping the Trube get her bike into the basement when we found a squirrel laying in the grass, panting but otherwise motionless. Our cat was poised above it with, I swear, a smirk on his face. There were two largish puncture marks in the squirrel's sides and it clearly couldn't move, I'm assuming it's spine had been snapped. Of course my girl is all sympathy and wants to help but doesn't know how. I'm equally clueless. Worried what she'll think I toss out the possible, though wildly unlikely, scenario that a dog got it, using the size of the holes to add weight to my conjecture. "No, Ringo couldn't make holes that big. His mouth is too small."
"Well, what dog was in our yard, Mom?"
"You know, I bet a dog got it in the woods, and it managed to get away and crawled into our yard." She's skeptical, but let's it pass in favor of the more pressing question, what are we going to do? I go to the basement and get the shovel, but there is just no way I can pull it off. Instead, I cravenly scoop it's totally limp body onto the shovel and tell my sweet kid that we're going to put him in the woods so his family can see him. She's all for it!
I'm sure he isn't suffering, he can't be able to feel anything, and I simply don't have it in me to try and brain him in front of my daughter while he's laying there with his little black eyes staring at me and his sides heaving in and out. It was horrible.
When we went to pick up Gordon for dinner and told him about it, he asked if we'd smacked him in the head and True threw her hands to her mouth in horror and gasped, "NO! Why?!" I explained it to her, but can only imagine if she'd actually seen me try and do it. As it happens, I'm a coward and my kid thinks the squirrel visited with his family before closing his eyes and drifting off to squirrel heaven.

Most Awesome Kid in the Universe

I know you know that I know how great my kid is. But seriously, check this out. So I am completely floored by the magnificence that is Hugh Jackman's Oscar opener. Need a reminder? Here you go.

Right? I know. I often screech the last line when I've been more awesome than usual, or just to annoy my kid since it's hysterical and I love to yell. So the other day, she comes home with this that she made for me.

I cannot express how much I love my rockstar kid.

And now she knows

As is often the case, I have to preface this with a little background. The Trube loves to watch the parts of Glee where Kurt and Blaine sing. She's fascinated with Kurt, thinks he's adorable, and totally digs on the a cappella scene. Who doesn't like singing and dancing? She was naturally curious when Blaine laid a nice sloppy one on Kurt and we had the discussion about what gay means. I told her sometimes boys love boys and sometimes girls love girls. We love people for who they are inside, not what they look like outside. She was totally down with that and we moved on.

So today she was telling me how she's got it all planned out. She's going to marry the boy she first declared her intentions with in kindergarten. I said maybe, but told her she hasn't even met most of the people she's going to know in her life. "One day, you're going to meet a boy you think is so kind, and so smart, and so funny, and so cute. Or maybe a girl." She says, "I don't want to be gay." I asked her why not, and she says, "We would have too many kids! What if I have three kids, and the girl I'm gay with has three kids...that would be six kids!" Oh crap, cogitated I. The moment is upon me. I have put it off for eight years come Tuesday. Every time we come close to the subject, and there have been some mighty close shaves, I distract her with something shiny. But I gotta bite the bullet at some point!

So I did it. I had a little trouble getting started, kinda hedged around how in all plants and animals (I know not ALL but she's in second grade!) there are male and female for a reason, but once I got it going it was ok. When I got to the actual mechanics part, she made the requisite horrified/disbelieving/appalled face and said, "I am NOT doing that." But I got it all in! She's not as well informed as her friend who got the whole skinny, down to genetics, from her health teacher mom in kindergarten, but she's not totally in the dark anymore. I asked her if she had any questions and she goes, "Do you wanna play Monopoly?" Yes, darlin. Yes I do. Now that I've deprived you of your innocence, I will crush you with the racecar.

Teacher Thinks Kids Shouldn't Read!

Hey, here's some great news. Little pun. The local newspaper ran a giant article about science in the classroom, and how we need to change the way we teach kids and how, best of all, my school district is right at the forefront of this all this positive movement! In fact, yours truly was right in the middle of it. Two giant pictures of my classroom, kids engaged, working their hearts out, talking about how I collaborate with Western (that would be my astronaut, thank you very much) to bring the most up to date research based strategies to my classrooom. It was great! Except for two, small sentences that maybe could have been worded a little more diplomatically. But were, of course, totally valid and explained very clearly. Which, of course, was not printed. Yeah. Upshot? I'm the only teacher on the planet who thinks kids should not be taught to read. Nice.

Another year over, and a new one just begun

So, how was your 2010? Good stuff here. Here's hoping the next is lovely for you and yours. From one of my very favorite authors, Neil Gaiman: I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

I’m sure people who don’t have kids will disagree with me, but ding dong Christmas is totally a kids' holiday! As a mom I enjoy it more watching it all through the Trueb’s eyes. This year was no different.

I came home from the last day of school brimming with the holiday spirit. We’d spent the whole day doing projects, watching Elf, drinking hot cocoa. It was aces. Which is lucky, because Gordon and Emma decided sugar cookies were the plan for baking this year. The last time I made sugar cookies, I swore I would never do it again! Seriously, they’re fantastic for the first three, then it’s just an eternal slog through never-ending blank, androgynous, buttery canvases mocking you with their infinite number of not doneness. They take forever! So I told them it sounded like a great daddy/daughter project. Of course, three cookies in, they’re whining about how they’ll never get done and they need help…. Argh! Look how pretty they came out though! And perfect for Head and Rosie’s 10^th Annual neighborhood party. Trueby brought a buddy this year and they had a blast. Even with a very strictly imposed cookie limit. How can you go wrong with a carousel of cookie plate filling?

In other surprising news ~ I like caroling! Never would have thought it. The Fawcetts were brilliant enough to organize a party this year with caroling around to the neighbors. It was great! We had kids, dogs, candles, the works. People would stand on porches to listen and cheer. Loved loved it.

We went to the lights of Christmas in Stanwood for the fist time. No idea why we didn’t hit this before. Yeah, I do. It’s in Stanwood! But totally worth it. Santa train blew a tire right before our turn, True didn’t even care. There was so much going on she didn’t even miss it. The highpoint for her was talking to Bruce the Spruce, a fake tree with stuck on eyes and lips who makes shmucky jokes and entrances the kids. The high point for me was when Lauren asked if the girls thought he was interactive. Em said he was and I laughed at her, “You don’t even know what interactive means!” She says, “It means like you ask him a question and he answers you.” What the what!? Where did she learn freakin interactive? My kid is brilliant. Top that off with the fact that they had pretty good vegetarian chili and you’re sitting on a winner my friend.

This was the first year in a while we’ve been over to Wenatchee for the holiday. I forget how gorgeous Leavenworth is when they do it all up in lights. We stopped to gape and to sled a little. Christmas Eve at grandma’s was shortish but nice. Emma got to open one present and was a little disappointed in her inability to master the BopIt I think. I also think it’s worth mentioning that I currently hold the high score on said present.

We went back to the hotel which had a pool that only started to try to counterbalance the weird smell in the room. In the morning, she was flabbergasted to find Santa had come by in the night and left exactly the present she’d asked for! What are the chances? We got to grandma’s for breakfast and a little tussle over the time for dinner, but everyone made it out alive. Uncle Jamal and Jessica arrived with baby Leila and I’m afraid all the pictures from there on out involve the baby. Sweetie! Emma would not put her down. Which was lucky, because she hates to be put down. No shortage of people willing to hold the baby though.

Christmas day was lovely of course. Everyone got something nice they really liked. Emma scored huge. Uncle Craig and Karen came by for dinner and my “herbivore” daughter decided she likes roast beast after all. Shocker! And apparently, there’s a Lego game that brings out the cutthroat in your closest relatives. Good times.

The drive was a drag, obviously, but we had a good visit. Emma was disappointed we had to leave so soon. Next time, we’ll get more than 2 of the 4 together, that will be real party! Merry Christmas!

It's in the air!

If you heard about a cool light display place, with a Santa Train, tons of decorations, lots to do and see, but it was in Stanwood…you’d totally blow it off, right? Me too. But I was wrong! It was such a good time. Not only were there decorations and lights everywhere, but they had made whole scenes out of the lights. Landscapes, backgrounds, arches…it was gorgeous. There wasn’t a single tree that wasn’t done up to the nines. Loved it. There were more photo ops for two super cute girlies than you can imagine.

Emma was crazily excited to talk to Bruce the Spruce. She used his parting line, “Have a tree-mendous Christmas” for a good three days after. He was a hammy Ozarks comedian, but check out the pictures. Devil eyebrows, anyone?

Em says one of her favorite shots was this adorable little cottage. Check it out, they made hyacinths out of lights! I was digging on this little town. Dude! It’s in a mailbox!

So pretty, loved it! You know me, there were way more pictures :) You can see the rest here if you like.

Sounds like I'm trying to cover my ass

I've had an idea. You know how we (and maybe that's too general, but I'm going to assume you're on my side) constantly lament how teachers are not given enough credit for the job they do? Not just pay, but the way we look at the profession itself. As a society, we see teachers really as glorified babysitters, and sometimes not even glorified. Yesterday the Trueb popped out of nowhere with, "I am so glad Mrs. Ritchie is my teacher." My first instinct was to agree and say, "Me too. She is really nice." But then I had this weird epiphany. What is the first thing you ask your kid about the first day of school? "Do you like your teacher? Is she nice?" And we communicate with our kids on the level of whether or not they like the teacher, how nice/not nice she is. So, unintentionally, but surely, we are raising our kids connecting good teaching with being nice and when some of those kids become congresspeople and legislate for our country, they are thinking in their heads about all the nurturing, kind, supportive people watching kids all day. And isn't that just a subconscious step away from babysitter?
I replied to Em, "Yeah. She seems like she has a bunch of good ideas. I'll bet she can teach you a lot." My brilliant girl agreed with me and detailed a couple things she felt she had already learned from her.
Maybe I'm overthinking this. Maybe our country has more respect for teachers than I think. Maybe I actually am a glorified babysitter. But just in case I'm right, next time you almost ask your kids if they like their teachers, try asking them what they are learning from them instead. Let's see what happens.

Totally Diggin 2nd Grade

Wowza, the start of another school year! It's weird, I was thinking the other day that my school years are kind of cyclical. I go from September to June, then start over again. Granted, every year is different, and, here's hoping, I get better, but it's kind of marking time in a way, it's always the same thing.
For the Trube though, it's a linear model. She's moving from milestone to milestone, every year for her is one year closer to independence, to being on her own, to being out in the world and ready to grab it! I'm watching her move through these rites of passage and gain more and more confidence, become more and more capable. It's a time-honored parental lament I know, but that doesn't make it any less shocking when every once in a while you're jolted out of your everyday and literally watch your child grow up before your very eyes. That was today. I took her picture in her First Day of School Outfit and she popped a hip out and gave me a double thumbs up. It looked so much like a little girl emulating an older girl that I just wanted to scoop her up and press kisses all over her soft baby cheeks. Then she slung her backpack over one shoulder and suddenly looked so much like that older girl that I wanted to scream and pile books on her head to stop her from growing so rapidly that she is rocketing skyward like Alice in Wonderland! I got to take her in to school this morning and her teacher is freakin lovely. I adored how she treated the kids, still a little coddly, but a little grown-upy too. A great balance for second-grade I thought. Plus, we get to celebrate birthdays this year! Woo hoo! I stayed for a little while and got to help out with some stuff in the room. When I had to leave, she just waved and smiled and that was it. She's on her own in the big big world. I am so proud of my kid I could quite literally puke all over myself.

You Know That Bear in the Woods?

My lovely and delicate daughter had a friend over this week. They played and frolicked in the sylvan wilderness behind the house for the entire morning. Industriously they built a fort from fallen branches and lined the ground with fern fronds. They came inside and grabbed something and dashed right back outside. "She's been outside in the woods for the entire morning! I love it!" The thought was no more than 30 seconds old when she and her buddy plowed back into the house, Trueby clutching a garden trowel. "Mom! Mom! Guess what! We pooped in the woods and buried it! We're NATURE GIRLS!"
Oh my good lord...WHAT?! They came in the house for TP and then went back outside so they could dump in the greenspace!! If anyone says anything, I'm blaming the neighbor's dog! A little knowledge is a really dangerous thing.

I am Crazy Old

It's a little hard to reconcile the amount of loveliness that surrounded my birthday with the amount of craptacularness that it engendered. I am clearly and definitively outside of the bracket of young. In fact, I am in the hazy area that could start to be called middle-aged. Since my life plan from age 16 has been to hurl myself from a clifftop at 30, thus avoiding any semblance of proximity to old-age, finding myself in middle-aged territory is violently jarring.
However, the birthday itself was a kick. The day before I spent with science teachers and my astronaut. One friend was so sweet as to bring birthday cupcakes for me, and another treated me to lunch. Almost enough for me to forgive them for making the entire workshop sing "Happy Birthday" to me and make me just about want to sink through the floor.
Yesterday I went to work but didn't get squat done. Another friend brought lovely cookie treats and I was sung to again...but the cookies offset that nicely. I met the fam for dinner at Olive Garden and came home to surprise decorations and some rockin presents. Not only the Flight of the Conchords DVDs, but check out the awesome silhouette they made me. Love it! Round it out with some house stuff and some craft stuff and I'm calling it aces! Topped off with a seriously tasty chocolate cake, with ALL the candles, and I barely made it to bed.
My kids have been calling me Oldylocks forever, but now it's official. I'm elderly!

Fan Girl!

I'm so geeked out right now! I went to pick up the Trube from her daycamp today and who should stroll in to pick up his daughter as well? Ryan Stiles! I played it totally cool (Gordon doesn't buy that for a minute...and he's right. I was so giggly!) and pointed him out to Emma who immediately got giggly too, squealing, "Go say hi to him!" So when he finished watching his daughter on the climbing wall, we went over and said hi. I WAS super cool, shut it! And he was crazy nice. I told him we'd just seen the Who's Live show and loved it and showed her some YouTube clips that she loved and we both just wanted to say hi. He was lovely and asked her name and seemed genuinely glad to meet her. I asked her if she wanted to tell him her favorite part, it's the line she squawks at random and cracks me up every time. Check it out I told him about it and he totally laughed, "Oh yeah!" He was aces! I've seen him around town a couple times, but have never said hello. Totally glad we did!

Lovely Weekend!

Great sakes, what a good time! We had the best weekend. Friday night after school we got Trueby's favorite dinner, yep, Subway, and grabbed a good spot to watch the Jr. Ski to Sea parade. Her daycare had a float and she was excited to go, but they only took big kids. She was super disappointed, but she wasn't letting anything rain on her parade...sorry.Oh, but Saturday! We left Trueby for her first sleepover ever at Sarah's. Granted, with zero expectation that she'd make it through the night. But, whaddaya gonna do? We trucked over the border for a night out, baby! The rarity of not having the chick with us for dinner was overwhelming. I was so torn...do we go fancy, which we never do for the obvious reasons, or Indian, which we never do for other obvious reasons? Indian takes it! A tiny hole in the wall that was actually pretty good. I got a thali platter that could realistically fed 8 people. Yum! There was a totally Wonka candy store across the street and we got a little sweet there afterward. Nice.
And then...We finally got to go to the show I've been WAITING for! Eddie Izzard played at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and sweet Marie, he was so great!
He built his act around the bizarre fact that when people don't believe in God, the burden of proof is on them to disprove the existence of an invisible, intangible, unprovable being. Funny stuff, right? Throw in jazz chickens, giraffe charades, Jeff Stone...of the Stone Age, and moon landings...Dude. Love that guy!
So we go home and the Trueb, against all odds, has fallen asleep at Sarah's house. Ruthlessly, we drag her home. Poor thing. I completely underestimated her. Thought she would never make it in a strange house, but she was out like a light. Now we'll have to set up another time for her to do it right. Sorry Chris and Lauren!
Sunday she got to celebrate a birthday with her super good friend and it was the most beautiful thing. All these happy seven-year olds and sunshine and a parade of them down the block with instruments and flags. Lovely.

If all that isn't enough to erase the horror of the science MSP last week, apparently I'm just gonna have to live with it until August.

Terrified!

Let me preface this with the acknowledgment that my child is the world's sweetest human being. At the Jr. Ski to Sea parade last night someone was tossing tokens for free cones at DQ to the kids and when she got two, she turned around and gave one to a kid behind her who missed out. Her first concern is always that everyone else is happy. Truly, a lovely child.
But apparently this chick has more of me in her than is good for either one of us. When it comes to me, 90% of the time I get the sunny sweet just like everyone else. But that 10% can shock the shirt off anyone's grandma! Today she actually took a hit herself just to spite me. It was worth that much to her. Granted, I may have provoked her a little bit.
We were running errands today and were shopping in Haggen. Afterward we're going to get lunch and go to Michael's to look for a craft she's been wanting. She fell into the "can I have.." pattern and I wasn't going for it. The kicker was in the florist section where she just "had to have" a blue "It's a boy" banner. Dude! She gets all whimpery and "you never let me have anything" and the whole spiel. As I'm unmoved, she ups it and starts really crying. Still not breaking me. Staring at me as though I'd just kicked a puppy she says, "I am really upset about this! You should be sad about that and I feel surprised and disappointed that you aren't!" I am convulsed in the bleach aisle. She is glaring at me furiously and I cannot stop howling with laughter. Poor kid.
On the way to the checkout line we see a bag of marshmallows that are as big as apples. I kid you not, it was incredible! Distracted from how cruel and unfeeling her mother is, she seems to be back to herself. But out in the car she asks to switch my CD for hers. I tell her it's my turn while we're out, she can have hers on the way home. "Well, let's go home right now then." Really? You don't want to go to Michael's? You don't want to go to lunch? Imperiously she hands me Best of Silly Songs and sniffs, "We can get something at home."
It was important enough that she stick it to me that she gave up the two things she'd been looking forward to all morning. When she hits pre-teen, no one is going to believe me how awful it is because she is the sweetest, most eager to please soul on the face of the Earth! One or the other of us is not going to make it to her adulthood with our intellect fully intact!

Loser Mom

Dude! Could I lose any more credibility as a parent? After work today I went to pick up the chick from her playdate...and when my lovely friend answered the door, her face made it very clear I was nowhere near my kid. "Emma's not here, is she?" Apparently the email reply I typed in response to her suggesting the playdate never got sent. I was looking in my inbox at her letter and thought it was weird I didn't see the little "replied" arrow next to it, but also thought she would think I was an utter moron if I sent her 80 replies so just left it alone. Glad I didn't look like a moron or anything. Duh.
I know, not a huge deal. But you don't know about last week yet. After work I went to pick up the chick from her playdate...sound familiar? Yeah...different friend though. Every time we drive past this place, Emma trills, "That's Madeline's house!" Guess what. It's not Madeline's house. So I knock on the door and when a totally strange man answers, I'm a little thrown, but no big. "Hi. I'm Emma's mom." "Oh, hello." And we stare at each other for a couple beats. Crap. "This isn't Madeline's house, is it?" I have no idea where my kid is. Nice. But, since I know I'm in the right vicinity, I go door-to-door looking for my child. Luckily, I hit it on the second try...and don't think they didn't think that was the best story of the day. Should a dork like that even be raising a child?

Seven Whole Years Old!

Shockingly, my daughter is seven. I was staring at her this morning. Looking at her sturdy legs, her straight back, her smooth cheeks. While seven is a crazy long time, it is a shockingly brief amount of time for her to have gone from the infant prised out of me to this strong and capable girl. I can't quite reconcile it. I guess it goes with the territory, huh?
So in celebration of that craziness, we have eaten more cupcakes than any human should consume. The day before her actual birthday, Jamal and Jessica came up and had dinner with us, decorating cupcakes afterward. It was very cozy, I loved it. On her day, we went out Tino's for dinner, came back for cake and presents. Very nice. Then today, we had the actual ruckus. She and her buddies trekked down to Mt. Vernon and Jungle Playland for the party. It's a fun place. Slides, ball pit, inflatable maze, you know the drill. Very cool. The topper for my girlie had to be when the fire alarm went off. You know how hyper she is about fire...something went screwy with their dryer and somehow the alarm was triggered. We all got hustled outside and Trueby held it together pretty well. A few tears, little clingy after, probably get a nightmare tonight, but ok overall. She's seven after all!
I'm super proud of her choice to forgo gifts and ask instead for donations to a charity that helps out children in emergency rescue situations. They've been snagged from unsafe homes and don't have anything to call their own so this organization puts together duffles of blankets, teddy bears, art supplies etc. Just things they can grab onto and feel safe. Our generous friends donated some really great stuff and we'll pack it all up and hustle it along. Nice.
So it's official. She's seven. Her birthdays always make me go a little Cat's in the Cradle and I can only see this getting worse as she gets older. Good times, good times!