Some mornings this life is like tactical wrestling. It's grabbing you by the heels and trying to flip you upside while you're looking for an advantage, all the while fending off that ever-present foe, Gravity itself.

The Little Ditchman won't eat her grapes this morning. Won't eat grapes! She also refuses the bagel and cream cheese and pours her cup of water over it. She will only have nuts. Nuts! Nuts, I say. Nuts. Also, I went to get her out of the PJs and into some proper daytime clothes and had her in a shirt that was at least a size too small. Well, we're all older today.

Had a fine birthday, if you were wondering. Spent it building an aluminum patio cover all day and then had dinner with the in-laws. It wasn't the sunset martini cocktails on the beach I had imagined for myself, but you can't have everything. Birthdays are kind of a funny thing for me, as I've kinda been partial to Christmas and Halloween. There were a lot of birthdays in my family, half of them forgotten. My dad's birthday is just a few days after mine, so ours was always kind of celebrated together. Do you like German Chocolate cake? My dad did. So that's what kind of cake I always had on my birthday. Perhaps that's why I've never been particularly impressed by cake.

The best part of yesterday was all of the phone calls and emails I received. Thank you! Thank you, all! I got a call from almost everyone in my wedding party (you know who you are) and a call from almost everyone in my family (you know who you are). I have five siblings and six nieces and nephews, so these family holidays get spread over the calendar rather thinly. Anyway, it was never really a wow-bang day growing up. My dad: "Isn't it your birthday? How old are you again?" Nearly every year.

I admit I'm often the sibling-out on the birthday well-wishing. I don't know what it is, really. I hereby resolve to change! I am going to make my own calendars with everyone's birthday and anniversary on it! From here on out it will be impossible for me to neglect! (Oh, brother.)


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