Happy 17th Birthday, Maya!

Gah, look at that face! She was so little, so young, so cute. Now…she’s gorgeous, funny, kind, smart, and growing up SO FAST it’s causing my head to spin. She’s 17 years old. I cannot fathom that sometimes. She’s driving (taking her test soon). She’s finishing up her Junior year of high school, and it’s all about colleges and SATs and the prom. How did this happen to me? Wait, not me. Her. How did she grow up so darned fast? Sometimes I can believe it’s been 17 years since she was born. Other times it is almost as though the in-between years never happened, and she was a baby, or at least a toddler, just last week.

So this is birthday weekend. Sometimes she cuts school on her birthday, and we do something fun together as a family, like maybe go into the city or whatever. But this year she has 3 tests, and her birthday is the Friday before Spring Break. So she’s going to school, where I’m sure she will ace her tests, and her friends will bring her cheesecake brownies and give her lots of attention. It will be fun. I took the day off, and I’m doing exciting things like getting the carpets cleaned, getting the oil changed in the car, shopping for Saturday, etc. Saturday, she wanted to take a bunch of friends and go down to the beach at Capitola, which is a lovely idea indeed. However, after a bone dry January, February, and most of March, it has now decided to either rain or at least be cold and chilly. Her friends are going to come over, eat, drink hot cocoa, and watch movies. Perhaps not as fun as the beach, but certainly more fun than freezing at the beach, I’d say. Then Sunday is Easter, brunch, and a family party with most everyone there. And cake. Should be a lovely, fun filled birthday weekend, and if you can’t have your birthday off, it’s nice to have the week after off.

Happy Birthday sweetheart. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to us, and I hope you have a tres jolie day, weekend, week, etc. I love you.