|
My daughter was born twenty-one years ago.
May 10, 1982 at 8:16 pm.
On her eighteenth birthday I recounted the events of her birth and a few memorable birthdays, so no need to go into any
of that... except, once again, to gasp in amazement at the rapid passage
of time.
Twenty-one.
This birthday marks the passage to being of legal drinking age, since her
eighteenth birthday brought her the vote. (When I was of an equivalent
age, we could drink at eighteen but had to be twenty-one to vote.) Just
about the only age constraint remaining is the constitutional restriction
preventing her from serving as President of the United States until she
reaches age thirty-five.
The day was marked by low-key celebration, no big fancy party.
She had visited friends early in the afternoon, one of whom had baked her a rubber ducky birthday cake (note the candle stuck into the duck's beak as if he were smoking a cigarette).
When Nancy asked what she wanted, she had replied "a marble cake with
a dinosaur" -- so Nancy baked a marble cake, with a dinosaur design
on it -- and I brought home a big helium baloon dinosaur |
|
 |
|
| We had our little family cake and ice cream party around 3:30 in the afternoon. |
 |
|
Nancy's sister Karen was in town and stopped by and Sean was there with
his girlfriend. (And, yes, gasp, he will be eighteen in just a few more
days!)
We gave her an air-conditioner (since her 3rd shift job means she will
need to sleep during hot summer days... she had borrowed Sean's air conditioner
the past two summers) -- and Tiger gave her a pair of socks with cats on
them and aa necklace with an "I love my cat" medallion. |
|
And Nancy and I took the birthday girl out to dinner. (Sean had to work...
he'd delayed the start of his shift in order to join the cake and ice cream
celebration.)
As Jennifer had requested, we went to the Mews Tavern -- one of our favorite local spots and probably where we go most often
when we have all gone out to eat as a family. Nothing fancy -- onion rings
as an appetizer -- Nancy had a calzone and a Bass ale, I had a buffalo
chicken sandwich and a Guinness (oh, okay, I had two) and Jennifer had
a chicken sandwich and a lemonade.
That, however, is not a lemonade in her hand. She then took the opportunity to have her first legal adult beverage and ordered a Rasputin (which, I think, contained vodka and cranberry juice and something else, although I understand there are other possible combinations).
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
We were back home before seven pm so she could get changed to go out for
the evening. Her friend Lia picked her up so they could meet some others
(including a guy she's been seeing recently) and go clubbing up in Massachusetts
at a place that has lots of arcade games (including Dance Dance Revolution)
plus drinking and dancing (Lia apparently being the designated driver for
the group). She said she'll be home sometime on Sunday.
|
