Not the posting I expected to write.

I'd started a completely different posting, ran into photo issues, and just gave it up for now. Maybe next time.

In the last two weeks, we've had three birthdays in our house.

My baby girl turned 17. S E V E N T E E N. How on earth did that happen? THIS is my baby.

And yet, somehow this child is driving, working, making great grades, making my life joyful just by being in it...

Ten days after that, I have a birthday. It's very easy to remember my own age, because, while I may forget many things, I always remember my age when she was born. And that's enough about that.

And Halloween would have been our son's 28th birthday. It's such a weird time of year -- celebrate, celebrate, Halloween parties, and then the memories are just right there. This is the tenth Halloween/birthday since we lost him, and some years it just seems so much more tender than others. I can't really get into Halloween decorating - it just feels rude somehow.

Anyone who has lost someone close knows that there is no "getting over it" -- you get through it, you go around it, but there's always a memory, a song, a movie, a friend...something that just reminds you of a special person you really wish was right there next to you.

Happy birthday to all of us. For my kids, you made and make the world more special for being here.

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