Happy 5th Birthday, Garrett!

Garrett turned 5 today. When Garrett is more perceptive about the benefits of having a birthday, he will surely cry out in frustration that his birthday is in January. First of all, It's only 1 month after Christmas. The Christmas loot is still making Garrett's eyes bug out of his head, so the appearance of birthday gifts is like an aftershock of goodness. In fact, I only gave Garrett the gifts he received in the mail today and one gift from his grandparents. We're going to have some friends over for dinner on my birthday this Tuesday, so I'll give him our gifts then.

The second undesirable quality of Garrett's birthday is that it is in the dead of winter and he lives in the Midwest. The good news is that the kids at school experienced a welcomed relief from the winter doldrums as Garrett storm-trooped into class today with his Star Wars cupcakes and party paraphernalia. Yes, a good time was had by all. The bad news is that when we got home, the latest of a series of winter storms kicked in and we now have 6 inches of snow. It's not a big deal, since we were in for the day, but WHAT IF I had planned a birthday party? Nobody would have been able to come. In fact, this is the reason that I have not planned a formal birthday party for Garrett-- you just never know. Last Thursday school was canceled because the wind chill was MINUS 20. Can you just see us sitting at home with 30 frozen Star Wars cupcakes?

Here's how we are handling the situation. If the weather is above 25, we have a birthday moment--we invite a friend over to play an make treats and stick a candle in whatever we make. If school is open, we have a birthday moment--we spend 20 minutes wrapping ourselves in various forms of fabric and then grab the party hats and horns and head out. If the cabin fever is eating away at our brains, we have a birthday moment--we retrieve a birthday gift from the closet and celebrate its novelty. I'm ready to convince Garrett that toothpicks are miniature Tinker Toys. Don't worry, I'll put a bow on them.

I guess we can all be grateful that we have Garrett's birthday to spice up our Annual Midwest January Tundra Event. One thing is for sure: Garrett's birthday will always include surprises. Oh and my birthday is just 5 days away.... wonder what gift mother nature will bestow? Not to worry, I have her outsmarted. I'm making a dinner the day before in case I can't get to the store; I'm inviting our faithful and delightful neighborhood friends over for my birthday celebration because they can just walk here in the event of prohibitive snow; and, hey, since we won't be driving, I'm making birthday cocktails! Cheers!