Happy Birthday, Pumpkin!

Today is the day my elder daughter Kathleen Elizabeth celebrates a quarter-century of living. I hesitate to write that out, because on the eve of her tenth birthday I inadvertently sent her into paroxysms of distress by exclaiming how she'd never have just one digit in her age ever again... It really was not my intent to depress her so because I thought it was a pretty cool milestone, but there ya have it, thought is subjective and unpredictable, which is why I'm a little worried about "quarter-century." I think I'm covered, though, because I have heard her say it once or twice herself, and while there was a touch of mystification and a teensy bit of alarm in her voice, there was no unconstrained angst nor floods of tears.

As a mother, it's always a nostalgic time when your baby, 'specially your firstborn, marks another milestone in their lives. You can't help but think about the process of their development, and fondly caress some pet favorite moments in your thoughts, while pushing the "dust-bunny" thoughts about difficult times back under the bed. In this respect, scrapbooking gives us an opportunity to put a shape to the favorite moments that allow us to share them with others, and the catharsis of creating that presentation. In that spirit, here's Kate at Eight!