Birthday Introspection

So I had my birthday this week. And no, I'm not going to tell you which one. You'll just have to do the math yourself if you are that eager to find out.

You learn a lot of things in your later 20's, you know. Suddenly, your contemporaries are living through different kinds of things, and you are exposed to a different flavor of ambition, successful and unsuccessful marriages and ventures... Another milestone is the one your brain makes when you have children. Suddenly you have to orient you interpretations of right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate, healthy and unhealthy, wise and unwise in terms of the innocence of the untarnished. Fresh youth, in all its inexperience and vulnerability. I realize that many people are parents before they are in their late 20's, but it still seems that there is plenty of emotional growth there, and then when you add the children in...

Well, I suppose you call it growing up. Do you ever wonder if the childless ever achieve the same level of adulthood? I think they don't. (Please don't infer that I think low of them for it. A different perspective is good.)

So, now that I am..ahem..older, it is time to look at myself. I'm due for inspection. What I have come up with is this: I don't often enough follow through with my better impulses. It doesn't matter at all if you wish you could help if you don't try. Knowing you need to finish something isn't any better than not acknowledging that you need to. Only finishing it is in any way useful. And keeping your eyes on your goals and working hard is a hell of a lot healthier than sitting around making lists of things you would do if you had different circumstances. So, with any luck, you will hear considerably less complaining from me. (But don't be too hard on me if I still vent a tad, periodically.)

My parents came to see me last weekend to celebrate my birthday. We went to Olive Garden. Josh was in heaven with his pumpkin cheesecake. For my birthday, my parents replaced my dead DVD player. (Enter Wave Of Guilt) Then, if that weren't bad enough, they also gave us our joint Christmas present early: a 42 inch TV. (At least it was on sale.) Josh was beside himself with joy. He loves declaring Christmas early. This might actually be the earliest ever - a personal record. Plus he was very interested in the TV. Me...not so much. Mostly I think the sound is better, but it makes all our movies look grainy and inadequate. Nobody would have thought I would be more than marginally excited about that sort of thing. My mother is usually more subtle in applying the pity and charity. BUT! Enough dwelling on my personal shame.

I also got a re-gift of a gift card to LLBean. Ah! Better. And Josh's mom and dad gave me a Borders gift card. (Really wish Josh would stop telling them what to get me when I'm sitting next to him. Yeesh.) AND....a giant chocolate bar. I haven't opened it yet, but that has more to do with the fact that mom brought me a pecan pie than its being less than appetizing. Mmm.

Oh, I changed from my summer purse back to the black one. Autumn, you may proceed.

The swelling in Grant's cheek went down far enough that I can finally see the problem. It's a bubble - type bump on the gum of his molar. Well, 2 molars, actually. It's big. Called the dentist again, and they are not terribly worried. It's what he guessed was causing the swelling all along. They say it should pop on its own. Ewwwwwww. I warned Grant.

Abbie is about the same. Still no potty training in sight, but I remain hopeful! And she still loves dresses, so I ordered her one from LLBean. $25 bucks for a toddler dress? Well, that's what gift cards are for, right? The shirt I ordered for Grant is not nearly as impressive. Oh, well.

We all had a great time at Carter's zoo birthday on Sunday. It was a great day to see tigers, elephants, and random guys I used to sit with at lunch in college. ???? Yep. Ran into one of the lunch crew. Now I'm starting to wonder whatever happened to Andrea....

We decorated the driveway with chalk today. Hope you took advantage of the weather, too. Tonight starts the cold rains.

Happy rest of the week!