December 27

We began our day by frolicking in some unexpected snow flurries. My kids have had very limited exposure to frozen precipitation, so they found the falling flakes --and the sub-freezing temps-- exhilarating (until they decided they were way too cold). And I found the quiet stillness and the beautiful patterns of the flakes to be a mix of calming and fascinating.

But today wasn't all about snowflakes. My grandma had recruited me to drive her to a dental appointment, so at 1PM, Abby and I did just that, and then went off to do some shopping until her 4PM pick-up time. My girl had her first Jerry's cheesesteak, which she proclaimed quite good, and then we wandered from shop to shop until it was time to head to our starting point.

When we got home, I found a trio of balloons tied to my grandma's mailbox, two emblazoned with '40' and the other, 'It's a Girl.' Then in the garage, I found a mylar balloon also referencing 40. (Lest I've not mentioned it here, I'll be 40 in a little over two weeks, so this was Adam's first go at celebrating said milestone.)

We then went off for an early family birthday dinner at Buca di Beppo. The evening wasn't without its frustrations; for one, the hatch on the Suburban popped open unexpectedly as we turned down a country road, and I saw a quartet of balloons that he'd hidden in the back exit and float skyward (which was confusing since I hadn't realized there were more balloons). I was disappointed until Adam pointed out that maybe Logan was trying to make himself part of the celebration, since at his first birthday party, the big Thomas the Tank Engine balloon we'd gotten for him came loose and flew off. (We joked at the time that it was simply heading back to Sodor to once again be a very useful engine.) Then the restaurant staff did a terrible job of making me feel like a celebrant: the service was sub par, they didn't sing (even though they sang for plenty of others!), and they screwed up the cake he'd pre-ordered. So I felt kind of yucky by the time we got in the car to head home. I mean, I was thankful for Adam's effort, but just disappointed that it didn't pan out as I'd hoped.

But then we came back to grandma's house. I popped my head in the boys' room to check on them and found only Brady, so I wandered out to the family room. And there I found Isaac sitting on my grandma's knee watching an old Carol Burnett show rerun. They were both smiling and enjoying the moment, and it made me smile. This life, it's a fleeting thing. Birthdays are fun and I always love attention, but the moments lived between the birthdays are the ones that are really special. So for that little reminder, I'm thankful.