Recently I turned 18. My birthday was pretty low key: a little cake, a little icecream, and a really nice pair of Gingher sewing scissors! The cake was super fancy... made by Aimee. She frosted a round cake bright pink, used bright mint green frosting for a border of swirls, added purple and red polka dots, and 9 candles. Why 9? Because 1 + 8 = 18 –sort of, and 2 x 9 = 18! But it was a pretty cool cake... huh?!
I got phone calls from a couple girls I know and one of my aunts, and an e-mail from a family in AZ. The next day my uncle called and sang, “Happy belated birthday to you!” It didn’t exactly fit rhythmically, but the sentiment was nice!Dad made a little speech on my birthday about me being an adult. He said he wasn’t going to kick me out now that I’m 18 (which I already knew!), and that I was now in charge of deciding when to go to bed and get up, and when to shower and when not to shower (which I was already deciding!).
That night my little sister asked, “Dad, does Perry still live here?” Dad said of course I did and wondered why she asked that. “Well, she’s a grown up now!” she said matter-of-factly. Just this evening at dinner, she asked, “Dad, is it time for Perry to get married now?” Dad laughed and told her it wouldn’t be time until there was a man who wanted to marry me. (And that’s not an advertisement!) So many questions for a 4-year-old trying to figure out what it means to have a “grown-up” sister!
