No longer a baby

Saturday morning I woke up and found a little face pressed into the pillow next to me, soft breath undisturbed by the movement of my eyelids. Noted freckled nose, rosebud mouth, flyaway blond wisps. Should have let her sleep, but had to wake my youngest with five kisses on the morning of her birthday, even though she had overtaken my bed, her long legs sprawled across its width, while I was scooched over to the far side. How could my baby have gotten so long? She has stretched out over the spring, and now is suddenly in the league of bigger kids.

I miss having a baby to cuddle, but I am also enjoying having children who are more self-sufficient. I like that they come to me because they want to, not just because they need something from me, although that is the usual reason. I think I thought life would be easier when the kids were bigger, but the parenting challenges are no less rigorous even though these more independent children don’t need to be held all the time. Only on the morning of their birthdays.


I wasn’t planning to have a birthday party for this young lady turning five, but a friend was packing out, so I invited her two girls over, and then figured why not invite a few more? So five little girls, aged five, came over for an impromptu tea party. I wasted a bunch of time debating whether or not to use my grandmother’s pink china, but figured I might as well use it if I’m going to store it. And then I wasted more time making pink cream cheese sandwiches on thin white bread cut into hearts, cucumber squares, jello shapes, scones, fruit with pink marshmellowy dip, and flower cupcakes, all of which were thrown over with a request for peanut butter and jelly from one young lady, and then from four more. The tea was passed over in favor of lemonade. The cupcakes were fingered and mouthed and then thrown away – probably a stick and a half of butter and 3lbs of confectioners sugar in the trash. But the girls smiled and shrieked and chased each other around the house and no one got hurt and nothing got broken and everyone had a marvelous time. Not so much wasted after all.

The table with PB & J, fine china, silver, cloth napkins

The cupcakes. Meant to make little bees out of lemon drops and almond slivers but lost the black icing. One mom asked if the girls decorated them - humbling.

Untouched food at the end of the meal.

Happy Flag Day, too! This one flies over Ft. Massachusetts on Ship Island