… well, he isn’t really a teenager, yet. Not for another four days, but I guess it’s close enough to count. Especially since he’s already had his birthday party. Diane and I are still discussing the legalities of having a birthday party 4 days before the historically correct date.  There are, of course, valid reasons …

First – the precedent was set long ago as we rarely celebrate on the correct day. As many of you know, the older you get, the less important the day actually is. By that I mean, all you have to do is get close, and it counts.

Second – on the proper day, Diane and I will be somewhere on I-5, heading south. Again. Seems like we’re always heading south on I-5. That’s all Diane will tell me. She’s such a tease.

Oh! The new teenager, almost, is Jeran …

This is him with his double fudge chocolate ice cream cake that Diane made which almost resulted in a divorce because I didn’t choose my words carefully when commenting on its size before she was done.

Yes, I made another one of those rare mistakes by not engaging my brain before energizing my mouth. Hard to believe, isn’t it?

The party was at Dan & Jen’s place so we had to travel all the way across town to celebrate. I think they are about a mile away. Still, it’s across town. Jennie cooked Swedish Meatballs and mashed potatoes at Jeran’s request. A very good meal. We had a great time sitting around the table talking after everyone was finished. We gave opinions about which family member’s genes had the most influence on grown up appearance and demeanor, then we shared previously untold secrets about favorite childhood memories. That started out nicely but quickly degraded into situations where we shared stories of survival … as in, it’s a wonder we survived what our siblings did to us.

One of my favorites was by Cedric who related an event where he was pushing Lydia in a swing. She fell asleep, fell out, and did a faceplant in the dirt. She didn’t get hurt, so it’s ok to share that one.

The reason I’m getting this entry out so early today is that the dogs tricked me into thinking it was time to get up … at 0630! I wasn’t ready. So, now that I’ve had my breakfast, I’m going to go sit on the couch and take my morning nap to ensure I don’t make noise and wake Diane.