May 18 dawned with snow falling and spring flowers freezing in their roots. My newly minted fourteen-year-old stumbled downstairs, grumbling a response to my cheery birthday wishes. After a minute or two on the phone registering Snapchat HBD's from friends, however, his smile lit the room. Ah, teenagers.
The kids had five different activities between 3:45 and 6:30 last night, and the pressure to rally for a good birthday weighed heavily on me. Good thing Aden likes to bake - and procrastinate. While putting off a final English essay, she decided to construct the leaning tower of Pisa. I had purchased both chocolate and a vanilla (gluten free) cake mixes, thinking to give William a choice of flavors. In his absence and in favor of both surprise and overwhelm, Aden decided to use both to create an alternating vanilla-chocolate, four-layer masterpiece.
Relegating to sous-chef, I watched in amusement as she skillfully constructed her tribute to a teenage brother. We ran out of frosting, so the cake looks like it put a hat on but went naked from the neck down. I was grateful for the enthusiasm and help, the brightly colored gift bags I found in a basement closet, and the friend support this morning. Parents can't do it alone, nor would we want to. Developing community for our children is a privilege and a responsibility, and one that we start to hand over to them as they grow. Happy birthday to William, may it be both memorable and delicious.
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