Bithdays

Ethan celebrated his 8th birthday today.  My childrens birthdays are always bittersweet.  Every birthday I am reminded of their actual birth and their firsts.  I remember that Ethan was so difficult.  How he has changed.  He is a bright happy boy that tries so very hard to act like a man around his uncles but then crawls up in my lap and snuggles in.  What a change from the first 7 months of his life when all he did was scream and nothing could convince him to stop. 

I am always amazed how traditions just sort of transpire.  For years the Morse family has sang the birthday song as off pitch, loud, and obnoxious as one could possibly imagine. The Kipp children have been sang to in that style for every one of their birthsdays.  It is just expected!  And today we did ourselves proud!!!  It was so obnoxious that my brother actually covered his 4 month old son's ears. Presents are then given.  Poor Ethan has been teased for years that when he turns 10 he will become a girl.  From his uncles he was given a pair of very lacy little girl panties wrapped in sections from the magazine "Seventeen."  They then presented him with a very nice baseball glove and tackle box full of fishing supplies but the panties are what got the picture.  I wonder if he will get a dress on his 10th birthday.  We also play baseball on birthdays.  It is something to see with ages varying from 4 to 86.  Eve, the four year old, runs around in circles not knowing which base to run to and the 86 year old has her own chair amongst the field.

It is nice that one day a year is set aside for ones very own day.  Your birthday is YOUR special day.  I don't care if you are 1 or 100 you need to feel special.  It was fun to see the excitement of that in one very special 8 year old boy that recieved everything from lacy girl panties to a toy swather.