Right around Christmas, my five year old son suddenly became fascinated with death. It started when we were talking about his grandparents and he asked where their parents were. I explained that those were his great-grandparents, and that they had all died and are in heaven now. When he asked why they died, I didn’t want to say some of them had been sick, since we often say we’re sick. So I told him that they died because they were old.

So, it shouldn’t have been any surprise when he pointed at an elderly woman a few days ago and said, “You died! You have white hair and that means you’re old. You died!”

But she was hard of hearing and just gave him a big smile, and now he thinks he’s cheering up retirees by telling them they’ve passed away.

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Oh, wait…not that woman. This woman.

This guy named Jimmy the Greek made some stupid, ignorant comments about black athletes.

Oh, sorry. This is him.

This guy, beat up married this girl.

And, a fellow in a leisure suit was elected to public office.

Iran… …and Iraq were at war. Which is really surprising, since you hardly ever hear about fighting in the middle east.

He hit his head, then went on to win a gold medal.

And, this guy was elected president. Oh, sorry…I mean this guy.

And, just to show what an intelligent country he was elected to run. Enough people went to see this to make it the 5th top grossing movie of the year.

And, in 1988 a computer for cavemen was invented. Thank goodness times have changed.

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Our family is a competitive bunch. Years ago, before we had started dating, my husband and I worked in the same office. But, instead of getting files off our desks, we would race each other to see who could finish the daily crossword puzzle first. Usually, I won. Okay, I admit that I cheated by calling my Mom fairly often…but hey, a win is a win.

My husband hates losing so much that I once saw him chuck his club into a creek on a putt-putt course. And, when he coached our daughter’s t-ball team a few years ago, and they lost their first game…well, it wasn’t pretty at our house afterward. Though, he at least waited until our daughter walked out of the room before he said he was so mad that he felt like throwing something. His mood actually rises and falls with the score of his fantasy football team.

The latest competitive activity in our house is Speed Stacks. If you haven’t seen it, you should watch this. Not only do you need dexterity and coordination, you need to be fast. They don’t include a timer for nothing. As of now, our daughter is the quickest, but we’re gaining on her. Well, my husband is. I can’t cheat my way to winning this.

Apparently, our five year old son is starting to take after his Dad. Because the other night, our boy stopped playing, grabbed at his pants, and as he ran to the bathroom, he yelled, “I’m going to go pee! TIME ME!”

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One of her preemie diapers.

She didn’t wear the apple…it’s just to give perspective.

We were some of the lucky ones. After five weeks, and after gaining a pound-and-a-half, we brought her home. That teeny, tiny baby? Well, she was a fighter. That sure hasn’t changed much, though now she mostly just fights with her brother. She’s nine, going on nineteen.

We still can’t be sure of what the future holds, but one thing’s for sure…this sweet daughter of mine is (aside from that fighting with her brother stuff) pure and unequaled perfection. Her heart is so big, I don’t know how it fits in her chest. And, though the day of her birth was the scariest day of my life, she’s given me sunshine and butterflies ever since. Happy birthday baby girl!

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