Sister-in-Law Day

When I first met Joseph's family, somehow the topic of birthdays came up. They asked when my birthday was and I told them September. Suzie, the wife of the only married brother said, "Is it maybe on September 14th?" And that was when we figured out that Suzie and I share a birthday so of course I was going to marry Joseph and September 14th would be sister-in-law day.
The third sister-in-law to come along told me the other day about how she felt less than welcomed into the family because her birthday didn't conform to the rules.

Anyhow, the point of all of this is that today was my birthday! I am now 28 years old, the proud mama of four fantastic (if slightly crazy) kids and the wife of a freshly minted PhD of computer science.
Joseph and I were a little sad to realize that we would be in separate states over my birthday, but he did what he could to take care of me. Before he left he carefully wrapped a little pile of presents for me to open in his absence. He contacted several friends we have in the area and asked them to do little things for me. I was planning to meet some friends from Austin in a park this morning, so he emailed them and asked them to bring a birthday treat. They did, and balloons too! They even lit a candle and sang to me at the park!
My wonderful sister-in-law Stephanie (the third one, with the wrong birthday) had us over for dinner - and having a family with four kids 6 and under is no small feat. She made us a delicious meal, followed by cake and ice cream. I received many messages from friends and family wishing me a happy birthday, which made me feel loved and thought of. My always thoughtful grandmother, living in Australia, was one of the first to send an email. My brother Daniel is sending me a yard and a half of some Japanese import fabric that I've had my eye on for over six months! It is fun to have a special day.

I wanted to record, really quickly, how touched I was by Emily's offering today. She had been feeling distressed by the fact that Daddy wouldn't be around on my birthday and she didn't have money to get me anything. I told her again and again that a card would be wonderful and a day of being extra nice to Caleb would be a great bonus. But I could see that the wheels in her head were still turning. Today she brought me a carefully wrapped bundle and told me it was my birthday present. It was really so sweet - she had taken a piece of computer paper and wrapped a thick purple ribbon around it. I opened it to find a necklace that she had just received today, from our Austin friends. She loved that necklace and as she saw me examining it I could tell she was fighting back tears. I asked her if she was sure about this, and she said that she really wanted to give me a gift but she also kind of wanted to keep the necklace. All I could do was hug her tight for a minute while I tried to figure out what to do. We worked out a deal that made her happy and it made me so proud to see my little girl sacrificing so much to bring her mama a little moment of joy.

People sometimes think I'm a little strange for loving this young age so much. My kids are so dependent on me. When I clip fingernails, I clip 50 of them. When I brush teeth, I brush four sets. I am called to the bathroom probably at least every hour, and I found myself feeding Jacob, Elinor, and Caleb this evening at dinner time. But there is nothing like seeing these little personalities develop and laughing along with them as they do crazy things. So often, I am pulled out of a funk by some unexpected antic performed by little Jacob or Elinor. I do love these kiddos and I try to appreciate this time that I have with them. My birthday was really fun, and though I was very sad to have Joseph so far away, I felt lucky to have the four kids with me.