Survived another birthday

My oldest child turned 9 today.

That means I've been a mom for 9 years.

That's weird.

I got him a pocket knife. Seemed like a completely reasonable thing for a 9 year old to own. But then the lady at the store said I had to be over 18 to purchase it, and my other kids found it in the presents we were wrapping and they made me ask Daddy if it's okay to give to a 9 year old. Guess it's a different world than it used to be. I thought 9 years old was actually a little old for a first pocket knife!

We also got him a bunch of books (mostly classic children's lit like "Dr. Doolittle" and "the Book of Three". He was excited to discover that "Homeward Bound" was actually a book first, and that we'd give that one to him, too). Reading lights. A laptop we got free and my brother (computer whiz!) made work despite the crashed hard drive. You know, stuff. When Tim said, "Here's a box for your toys," to Caleb, Anda (7 yo) piped up with, "They aren't toys, Dad. They're real."  I guess 9 years old is too old for toys, even if they're magic sets and juggling balls.

And we survived another birthday. Balloons. Decorations. A cake. Blew out the candles only twice this time. One candle self-destructed, flaming huge and melting itself to nothing while we sang. I've never seen that happen before! No tears, to speak of. Hooray. Plus I got a jump on the next birthday, buying presents that I put away for now.  So that might be easier (since Tim might be on a ten-day tour leading up to that birthday!).

Hooray for 9 years of motherhood!