And one to grow on . . .
The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been. -- Madeleine L'Engle
We celebrated Little’s birthday this past week.
She’s 12.
Little, unlike her mother, has never had a wish list of things she’d like to have or see or read or taste. Until this year. In the past, Little has always asked for “surprises.” Twelve, I guess, is different—or at least the beginning of different.
At 12, she wanted drums. And graphic tees. And iTunes gift cards. And Starbucks gift cards—because “it won’t be too long until you’ll let me walk there and meet MC--and they have good hot chocolate.” Um, no, I don’t see that happening. Right now, I can only imagine her walking there with me following at a reasonable distance (20 feet seems about right).
Birthday dinners around here are usually homemade, ranging from steaks or salmon on the grill to tacos to shrimp and grits, but we almost always end with a homemade cake. But twelve is different. Little wanted to go out, downtown. And, so we did. You don’t have to make me a cake, Mom. We’ll just order dessert.
The Mister wisely suggested that Big might appreciate a homemade cake when he comes home for spring break, so we will celebrate his homecoming and Little’s birthday again.
And we will use our traditional Happy Birthday tablecloth.

And no one will be too greedy.
Or tease.
And Big, Middle, and Little will get along just fine.
Because 12 is different.
But I don’t like it much so far.
We celebrated Little’s birthday this past week.

She’s 12.
Little, unlike her mother, has never had a wish list of things she’d like to have or see or read or taste. Until this year. In the past, Little has always asked for “surprises.” Twelve, I guess, is different—or at least the beginning of different.

At 12, she wanted drums. And graphic tees. And iTunes gift cards. And Starbucks gift cards—because “it won’t be too long until you’ll let me walk there and meet MC--and they have good hot chocolate.” Um, no, I don’t see that happening. Right now, I can only imagine her walking there with me following at a reasonable distance (20 feet seems about right).


The Mister wisely suggested that Big might appreciate a homemade cake when he comes home for spring break, so we will celebrate his homecoming and Little’s birthday again.


And no one will be too greedy.


And Big, Middle, and Little will get along just fine.
Because 12 is different.
But I don’t like it much so far.
Sweet Post. Happy 12th Birthday to Little!! I love that tablecloth. Martina
ReplyDeleteOh, but cherish the 12 because before you blink you'll be celebrating #32 and that's really different!! Happy Birthday, Miss Little!
ReplyDeleteOh this is just so sweet and yet makes my heart ache a bit too because I know how fast the time goes and we mamas want things to slow down! 12 just seems like such a big milestone and I'm four years away from that with my oldest but it will come soon enough. :-( Happy Bday to Miss Little though!
ReplyDeleteVanessa
My "Big" turned 12 a couple of months ago. Your description seems accurate. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to her!, and 20 feet sounds reasonable to me! Love it!
ReplyDeleteBittersweet isn't it watching our "little ones" grow up? I know so much of this is a rite of passage...wanting to go out instead of having Mom slave over her favorite meal, Starbucks giftcards replacing Toys Rus giftcards, etc......I am having an equally hard time watching my 15 year old "baby" grow up both in feet and in years right before my very eyes..how I wish I could push a panic button and have him stop in his tracks and stay this way forever!
ReplyDeleteI am learning instead to cherish and enjoy what we have together here and now....hard but I am doing it :-)
PS Wish her a happy birthday, 12 is a magical age...right on the cusp of well you know.....lots of good things!
ReplyDeletehappy birthday to her! loove that tablecloth - very fun!
ReplyDeleteLove that you have a birthday table cloth - that will always be a precious memory for your kids. Adolescence - good times, huh? :)
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Little. My little one turns 12 at the end of the year and we are in the EXACT same stage as you are!! I came home with so many cute cute things from the Gap for her - and she was willing to keep exactly one thing! I ADORE your happy birthday tablecloth!!
ReplyDeleteHappy, happy birthday to your Little! 12 and 13 were hard years for me. The "akward" years as my Mom dubbed them. Might have had something to do with the fact that I was 5 ft 7 inches by age 13 and no one else seemed to be anywhere near 5 ft. Or maybe it was the powder blue Mary Kay eye shadow I attemped to wear in 7th grade with the frosted pink lip gloss. Either way I hope the pre-teen/early teen years are kinder to your daughter! :)
ReplyDeletexo,
Tessa
PS. Simply adore that table cloth!
Thanks everyone for Little's birthday wishes and sympathetic thoughts toward me. For those who commented on the birthday tablecloth, I found it on clearance at Restoration Hardware about 10 years ago. Using it, along with our banner and chandelier spangly garland, are a tradition none of our children have outgrown!
ReplyDelete12 is just knocking on the door to 'terrific!' Happy B-day to her! We also have a traditional banner but with the boys not being home on their birthdays anymore it gets less and less use. :( Enjoy your special days at home. :) xoxo
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to come eat that cake!
ReplyDeleteS turns 12 next month. Goodness, where are our little ones disappearing to? Happy belated birthday to Little!
ReplyDeleteI've been meandering around a bit,
ReplyDeletereading post after post.
We've said it before haven't we,
we are so alike...
I loved your story about your
travels and long conversations
with the woman from Japan.
You still wonder about her don't you?
I wanted to comment here because
birthdays are one of my favorites.
Like many moms, we cherish
that special, bonnet and blanket,
birthday banner and school sweatshirt.
Then there is the jewelry that she
made out of plastic beads,
and the flip flops tied with a
hundred grosgrain ribbons,
the list goes on and on.
Then it stops, but only for a while
because they suddenly have life all
figured out thanks to those
lovely hormones.
Seems like every season
there are still changes.
Something that was an issue
3 months ago,
suddenly is not anymore.
At 14 we all fell in love
with each other all over again
and at almost 20 she is more fun
than ever, well, almost.
I can tell that you are one
phenomenal mother to your children.
It's so nice that you share it with us too.
Happy birthday to your sweet girl!
xo Lisa