Saturday

Today is my birthday and I am feeling very �eh� about it. It seems the birthdays are coming much more quickly than they used to. I�m not sure when I got so blas� about my birthday. No, that�s not true. I know exactly when. It was when I had a kid and his birthday became much more exciting to all of us. Before AJ, I was always very big on celebrations. Inspired by rs536, I used to use my birthday as an excuse to throw parties. One of my grad school friends has the same birthday as I do and when he still lived here and I still lived alone, we used it as an excuse to throw one hell of a midsummer bash. It was usually a lot of fun, although it did not always end well. I remember one year the guy I was dating (not particularly seriously) showed up with a bouquet of red roses and spent most of the evening being grilled by my friends who didn�t think he was good enough for me. Two of my male friends refused to leave before he did because they decided to go all big brother on me. It was sweet in a kind of obnoxious way. The guy really didn�t stand a chance. But whether they were right about him or whether the subsequent demise of our partnership was caused by that particular gathering, I will never be certain.

I remember little about my birthdays of the last few years. This year�s was quite lovely. Last night my husband took me out to dinner to a new restaurant here, where the atmosphere was relaxed and the meal was outstanding. We took a walk on the beach in the dark, while the stars swam and the lights of the shrimp trawlers twinkled across the water. Pulsating lightning soundlessly lit up the sky from some distant place, in lieu of an actual moon. Every now and then we�d come upon some other couples, also strolling, at alarmingly close range � the dark gives the illusion of privacy. But in a place where normally everyone greets everyone with a friendly hello, the duck and cover tactics of late night beachwalking made me think more than once of the post-Prom strolls around the country club.

Sunday

All hell broke loose yesterday when my brother and family arrived. I spent the morning of my birthday cleaning the house while my mom and dad went to the airport to get them. The afternoon was spent watching the kids run wild. We took them to the beach where they all had a wonderful time. My birthday dinner was spent hearing all the stories we�d heard upon our arrival retold for my brother�s benefit. I was nodding off over my shrimp and grits. But it was nice to see everyone around the same table.

The three cousins are having a marvelous time playing together. The girls have set up housekeeping in the toy cupboard. AJ, being uncertain of his role in this game of two little girls and their family of dolls, decided to take on the career of UPS man. This allowed him to interrupt the proceedings behind the cupboard door every few minutes to carry in packages to the already overflowing establishment. Our plans for this morning, which involved a trip to the pool, were quenched with a downpour. Instead, we watched an alligator catch a fish in the backyard lagoon while the children staged a parade around the house, dressed in all sorts of remnants from the dress up box, carrying favorite toys, and singing �Jingle Bells� at the top of their lungs. It is a pleasant sort of anarchy, at least for now. Although I am certain that if left alone, a sequel to �Lord of the Flies� would be entirely possible. We�re keeping a close eye out for signs of political unrest.

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