Happy Birthday Wynne!

In our family, besides whatever other celebration is going on, the birthday kid gets to pick a restaurant of his or her choice for a small family dinner on the actual birthday evening. Yesterday was my daughter Wynne's 13th birthday and she chose Romano's Macaroni Grill. This is a pretty great chain restaurant, with so many options and a wonderful ambiance -- lots of colored glass vases and roomy, cushy booths.  I love the "make your own pasta" option. I chose bowtie pasta with spicy arrabiata sauce, broccoli, spinach and mushrooms - so good! I wolfed the whole thing right down! Wynne had spaghetti with butter and parmesan, it doesn't take much to please her. She mostly just loved the large sheet of white paper and crayons she used to mindlessly create amazing sketches throughout the meal while we chatted -- faces, hairstyles, fashions. These images were all beautifully layered and intertwined, filling every inch reachable to her. The meal was delicious and fun and a great way to spend an hour or so.

Next we went to Yogli Mogli for some frozen yogurt. I was prepared for some sitting and watching the others eat, but the establishment heeded my earlier requests and provided non-dairy mango sorbet! Wynne whispered, "Mom, I bet they got this because you asked for it!" Whatever I can do to forward our vegan cause!

It was fun to be able to participate in the yogurt consumption, but I am paying the price now. My vegan-clean liver seriously does not like sugar, and especially not right before bed. I was fast asleep for about an hour and a half and now I am up at 3:30 a.m. Ugh!

I am mindful of the fact that I have been talking about my 13-year-old daughter for a couple of months now, and she only really turned 13 yesterday. I suppose this is how I ease myself past certain milestones. I did the same thing with my own 40th birthday. I thought of myself as 40 for a good six months before it happened, visualizing 40 simply as the top edge of the 30's, and then when I reached 40 it didn't feel like the body blow it does to some folks. This little trick no longer works for me as I assess myself. I am well aware that 45 is nowhere near the 30's! But whatever framing I have done of my baby's official status as teenager has helped me to focus on what's important -- she is still the same person and I am so proud of her!