Birthday Boys...and The Old Lady Who Fed Them

My three nephews and I all have birthdays in October, so tonight we did our family birthday celebration. Aaron turns 15 this month, the twins, Hunter and Will, turn 12, and I turn an undisclosed number which is very large and a little scary.

I won't bog down with frivolous meal details; I'll cut right to the chase and tell you that there was plenty of dessert. Each of the boys had their favorite represented. There was a poke and pour cake for Aaron, chocolate brownies for Hunter, pecan pie for Will, and vanilla ice cream and whipped cream for the sides.

Then my sister in law surprised me with one of her coconut cream pies. In an instant, my taco bar became secondary, and dinner was a pesky formality standing between me and a matter of great importance. One with lightly toasted coconut sprinkled on top.

Tonight was not the finest hour for my kids. I can point that finger with no guilt because I am the first to admit that I have many bad days myself. I'm forever messing things up and second guessing myself over things I say or do that fall short of a standard I want to uphold. It's no fun when I goof up in front of other people, and it makes me cringe just as hard when I watch my kids goofing up too. I get embarrassed for their lack of proper manners sometimes, but my bigger concern is always my own stupid pride. I worry when my kids blow my cover and expose the ugly truth that I'm not a perfect parent. Tonight the baby even turned against me, crawling all over table tops and running through the house waving plastic pumpkins over her head and squealing like a wild woman. She was full throttle. It is an exercise in southern grace when you pretend your child really isn't dismantling your cookbook cupboard while you offer your guests another slice of pie. Then go ahead and eat one yourself just to calm your nerves. I always love that second helping of grace. :-)

Papa John and Aunt Sarah joined the family zoo tonight. John has a Nikon too, and his bag of tricks is rather impressive. He let me try out his fancy lens and new external flash on my camera. It was like being a kid and getting to play in someone else's toy box. Thats the best feeling. How fun to have high tech friends with a flair for generosity!

Nana's foot is hurting really bad lately, and my Mom has had several terrible days with her hand. I wish I could somehow trade out arms and legs to patch up our sweet grannies. Despite their discomfort they joined forces with Sarah and Kaylyn to completely handle KP tonight. I didn't have to lift a finger (other than getting that coconut to my mouth) so the evening was a piece of cake....or pie.....or two pieces.........whatever. So far, getting old is off to a delicious start.