The “Littlest Janaro” Turns ONE!

How lovely that Katie’s First Birthday fell on a Sunday. There was a big family turnout at our son’s house, with brunch and a cake. There were presents too, which Katie opened “with the help” of her older sisters. Her role was accomplished (more-or-less) by others, but as a baby she’s pretty used to that.

As everybody knows, first birthday parties don’t register much in the one-year-old mind. There are lots of familiar people around: sisters, parents, aunts and uncles, and both sets of grandparents. The party is really more for them. They take pictures and give lots of attention to the birthday girl, but they do that all the time anyway. Then, for a good stretch of the afternoon, the birthday girls naps. She sleeps through part of her own party.

I didn’t take cake-pictures or present-pictures; just a few double-selfies. She is growing so much. She crawls like a champion, stands often, and has begun to take steps. Katie is very curious, and we are going to have to keep an especially close eye on the lower shelves when she’s at our house (which, like nearly all the shelves in our house, are full of books). She is very cheerful (except when she’s fussing or crying) and always has a big smile for Papa. She still likes to pull the beard, and has recently discovered the joy of knocking down towers of blocks whenever Papa tries to build them.

We already have this special “history” with these kids. It is gratuitous, and it continues to grow. It is yet another sign of the gratuity of reality itself. The older I get, the more I sense that I’m surrounded everywhere by gifts that are great and radically original beyond anything I could ever make myself. They refresh and in a way clarify the promises of my own youth: a new generation is growing within history as I sense myself “growing closer” to the ultimate fulfillment for which I hope. This evokes a gratitude, a sense of peace, and a quieter determination to live as well as possible the days ahead, with all my personal limitations. The winds that have whipped up storms in my brain all my life are perhaps growing calmer and steadier. It helped too that my brother was there (“Uncle Walter”) after finishing the first round of his current therapy. He looked a little bit “better,” I thought, although I know that he also gets a “boost” from his grand-nieces.

The birthday presents were fun, but — aside from clothes — they drew more enthusiasm from Maria and Anna, who immediately started playing with the toys. Little kids are not put off by toys that are designed for a “younger age group.” They aren’t ashamed to play with stuff designed for infant-toddlers, and in fact Anna — not quite three years old — is still a toddler herself. Her birthday is coming up in November.