Mom came into town just for the occasion. Here are some memoirs:
On Friday, Drakeson was a mess from a viral infection that attacked all the kids in Austin or something. I took a piano lesson with Dr. Mallard anyway, and then the 6 of us went to dinner. Although he was sick with a fever, Drakeson was as sweet and cuddly as could be. The next day was January 18th, the anniversary of the big laboring day. Mom and the 3 of us went hiking at McKinney Falls, just like we did last year with Bà. It was beautiful, but we got lost and we ended up walking about twice as far as we'd bargained for. Then we stuffed ourselves at a Korean buffet. We also picked up a dragon scepter and a dragon balloon, finished making the cake, and tried to booze up 2 watermelons for the picnic. The boozing didn't really work. Sunday was the big party, and Linda and Warren's family came into town. I played a theme and 5 variations on Happy Birthday, which was probably enjoyed most by George and my 2 pianist friends. Everybody else was like, "Why?" Monday was supposed to be Mom's last day in town. We went window shopping at The Domain, picked out a new recipe kit at Homebrew, and checked out the brand new Whole Foods. It was a beautiful day in the 80's, so we took a stroll around the lake as the sun went down. George had to work overnight, so Mom and I stayed up talking. Around midnight, I encouraged her to check out the latest Drakeson blog post. She checked her flight status while she was at it, and found that her flight was delayed from 6:00 am by 10 hours! I started dancing, which is something I never do. Mom didn't get to ride the Zilker Zephyr on Sunday, so we started today off with that, popped into the Barton Springs Splash exhibit, walked through the Zilker Nature and Science Center, and toured the Thinkery before she had to leave. It was great.
But back to the birthday. A year and 9 months ago I started getting really emotional about everything, and that hasn't really slowed down. My little baby turned 1, and I celebrated all day. Then I just kept wanting to scream or cry that evening, realizing in horror that I could never get the time back. It was kind of fun, in a mildly bipolar sort of way. It's fun being in love. Nobody really wants to hear that stuff, except other bipolar moms, so I'll just post some birthday pictures with clean square cropping and be done with it. But seriously, bipolar moms, that was for you.
There was a birthday party. It was a bánh mì picnic with bubbles in the park.
And a train ride.
And a little prince.
And presents.
And friends.
And family.
Oh, yes. And lemon-raspberry ice cream cake at home after the picnic.
And bubble party favors.
And a moment with Aunt Rose.
That's probably a really good ending. So thanks, Aunt Rose.
