Half Birthday

Today, Andrew turned 4 1/2 years old. We celebrated as we have for the past three years by plunking down at Dunkin' Donuts and going on a family sugar high. It was an indulgent way to celebrate the 1,642 days we have now shared with our not-so-little-anymore Monkey.

Driving home, I got a bit melancholy. Szu-Chuan is exactly 4 years and 10 days younger than Andrew. Translated, that means mass birthday party chaos every July for the next 10 years of our boys' lives. Sadly enough, it also means we are not going to get to celebrate his half birthday with him when it happens 10 days from now. For some reason, that thought really gripped me. As milestones go, it's not that significant; it's probable that we'll have him home in time to witness his first steps, to hear his first words, to rejoice together on his first birthday, the real biggie.

Nonetheless, it's disappointing to think he'll miss out on this one particular, peculiar family ritual. I know he's too young for donuts and may not even have started on solid food yet. Still, with each day, the anticipation builds to have our baby join our family, to enfold him in our daily paces, to observe him experiencing the ordinary and the extraordinary events of our shared lives, and together, to settle into a "new normal."

Come on, fast judge!