early morning.
I see a sliver of light coming through my window and in a split second of panic I remember that it’s Saturday morning. I roll over to enjoy the only morning of getting to sleep in when I feel a tap on my shoulder.
It’s Gracie.
With her voice barely audible she whispers to me, “Mom, you need to get up so we can give Miriam and Emma breakfast in bed for their birthday!” I can tell she’s already excited for the day ahead. I love that about her. It’s not her day and yet she is already delighted to get to create surprises for her sisters.
I pull myself out of bed and Grace can’t believe I’m taking so long. “Mom! They are going to wake up. Hurry!”
We creep downstairs and start pulling out bowls and plates, cereal and milk, with spy-like stealth quietness. I fill cookie trays with Life cereal and glasses of milk while Grace colors little cards to prop up on Miriam and Emma’s birthday trays.
Even though we are both sleepy we are also a little giddy and can’t keep our selves from doing stifled giggles over inconsequential little noises.
I text Mike and Emmett to wake up and come sing “Happy Birthday!” to Miriam and Emma with us.
Mike sleepily comes down the stairs, hugs Grace, and kisses me good morning as he takes the birthday tray for Miriam. Cautiously, Grace slides the tray for Emma off the counter and beings to walk gingerly toward the stairs. A glass tips like the Leaning Tower of Pisa for a second and I inhale before it falls back into place.
At the top of the stairs Emmett is out of bed with a blanket wrapped around him ready to sing.
We all bust into song and before we’re done the girls are sleepily opening their eyes and squinting at the morning light coming through the window. Within a few minutes we are all comfortably laying across beds, laughing and chatting about the day ahead and how we can’t believe that they are really eleven. And Mike and I keep catching one another’s eye and in that one look saying, ‘can you believe it was really eleven years ago that we held two babies in our arms?’
And we both can’t.
And this is the way every birthday at our house begins.
On every 5 year birthday: 5, 10, 15, 20…we have big birthday parties. Friends are invited and it’s a big shin dig we plan for over a month where we all get involved in the action.
This year it’s eleven for Miriam and Emma.
So over the weekend it was just us, our little family celebrating that we are so thrilled that this two incredibly beautiful and such vibrant personalities were born, are part of our family and are here, on this earth, making our lives that much happier.
6 Comments
Chris and I kept shaking our heads last Monday when we were looking at our 18 year old son blow out his candles on his cheesecake….realizing he will be gone on his mission right after his birthday next year…….wow! Time flies.
A little thought….we usually talk to our kids about the exact moment and time of day the were born and when the clock strikes the exact moment they are officially one year older. 🙂 So, for Alex I say,” You were born on a cold, snowy night in Bethesda, Maryland @7:16 Eastern Time (5:16 Mountain Time). We were in a birthing center with a midwife. It was quiet and the lights were low, Neil Diamond playing in the back ground. The midwife coached your dad on helping to deliver you…..it was the most amazing moment in our lives when we saw you for the first time”..etc etc.
I love reminiscing about the moment they came into this world….awe….Life is beautiful! 🙂
p.s. thank you, Davina, for allowing me to be part of Emmett’s birth. 🙂 That was amazing……
Rita, that is so beautiful! I love that idea!!! I need to set the timer on my phone and do that from now on. I think that would be amazing. What a great thing for each of your kids to hear every year. And the way you said it…I think I may need you to record my birth story for me and then I’ll play it for my kids! 🙂
Happy Birthday, girls! Sounds like a wonderful day! Hard to believe they are 11 already. They are just newborn babies in Jay and I’s wedding pictures. 🙂
I know!!!! Isn’t is just nuts? I can’t believe how big your kids are getting. It’s blowing my mind.
Davina, I don’t comment very often, but I want you to know how much I love your family images! They are always my favorite, and I love your caring and sensitive words to describe the experiences at your house. The images match the feeling in your words perfectly. Like reading an inspirational magazine that just makes you want to walk away and make your own life better 🙂 Thank you.
Brooke,
Thank you! What a lovely way to describe my work. Thank you!!