Last night, as we’ve done every year on the 12th of February, we went to a restaurant of E’s choice to celebrate her half birthday. We typically celebrate her actual birthday in a big way, with friends and family, so it’s really nice for the three of us to go out on this day for a nice, quiet dinner. And who knew that if you bravely told the waitress that you were here celebrating your “half” that she’d bring you a free dessert? Fantastic.
Occasionally we’d ask her if we could have a bite of the enormous hot fudge sundae she was devouring. Eventually she told her dad that he could help himself to some whenever he liked – no need to ask – just dig right in. We commented on how generous she was being with her favorite dessert, and she just replied with a shrug of the shoulder “I guess it’s because I’m really much more grownup now, today.”
We sort of sighed, because she is, and continues to be each and every day, and then she sort of sighed and looked a bit crestfallen.
“Which is really too bad,” she continued, “because I really do love to be carried.”
And nestled deep into his collar, bracing herself against the biting wind and the flying snow, she rode in his arms all the way back to the car.