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Happy Birthday, Becky!

This year, Becky started celebrating her birthday a bit ahead of time, with a now commonplace invasion of her schoolmates for a sleepover. I customarily holed myself up in my study, trying in vain to ignore the squealing that permeated the house.

Today started very similarly to that famous day fourteen years ago – Natasha was making an omelette. As she likes to tell it, when she woke me up at 4 in the morning on that day and informed me that her water broke, I responded that there was plenty of time – hours and hours – before she’d be close to delivery, and that I’d rather not go to the hospital hungry.

I don’t remember it exactly that same way, but I don’t mind. Becky was born at 6:17 pm, and I spent the intervening hours pacing around the labour and delivery room in a state of heightened agitation. Never got myself another bite to eat. I could have fainted or something if not for that omelette, you know.

Anyway, Becky is a year older and more grown-up in every way. As I suppose all teenagers go, she can be both a pleasure to be around and a royal pain in the posterior. More importantly, she is growing up to be an amazing person. I hope I can take some credit for that.

Happy Birthday, Becky!

At lunch in Florence

8 Comments

  3. mama

    I congrutilated all of you in the morning and by the Skype, I cannt right now to create something very clever to comment, but there are no words enough to tell about my love and happiness starting from the first moment I met you in the hospital and all this wonderfull years to be your proud grandmother.
    Happy birthday, my star!
    And with all my love to my small bird Kimmy and all of you! Mama

  7. Ilya Post author

    Oh yes, I know, Vince. And it gets progressively more frightening, too!

    Thank you, all who called, wrote or emailed! Becky had a smashing one!

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