Colin's Birthday

Our Colin turned 8 last weekend. Can you believe it? It seems like he was just starting kindergarten. Of all the milestones in my life this year - turning 30, celebrating 10 years of marriage, having a fourth child - this one makes me feel the oldest, the most serious. A child turning eight, which we believe is the age of accountability. It makes me examine my life in a way that the other milestones don't quite. If my life isn't what I want it to be now, when will it be? Am I creating the home that I want to? Am I teaching my kids the things that I feel are most important? Where are my priorities?

To Colin, of course, the day was about fun. I wasn't up to doing a big birthday party for him, so we tried to keep it simple, but he ended up getting a lot of little celebrations anyway. We brought cupcakes for his class on Thursday, since there was no school on Friday. On Friday Chad took him bowling with Gabe, his cousins Santiago and Evan, and his good friend Maya. On Saturday he had an ice cream party for piano in the morning, and from there he went straight to soccer, where he also brought cupcakes. Then when he got home, Granny stopped by and took him shopping for a birthday gift. By the time he blew out his candles that night, he didn't even feel like eating his cake, he had been partying so hard. So despite keeping it simple, he declared it to be, "like, the best birthday ever."