Scout celebrated her 18th birthday this week. It was odd not to have her here in person. But somehow Scout manages to make herself ever present. It was 11:56pm on October 2, four minutes before her birthday officially began. Eileen and I were out cold. My highly unattractive snoring (which all my children can replicate beautifully) would have given it away. The phone rang. What happens at your house when the phone rings late at night? You panic, right? Yup. That’s what we did. And of course cordless phones are never where you need them. And once you find them they are always out of juice. So we’re racing around the house and finally grab the phone. It was Scout.
No drama. She just wanted to be on the phone with us when her birthday officially began at midnight. I thought this was about the sweetest thing ever. It would not surprise Scout to learn that Eileen’s initial reaction was “What is she doing out so late? Doesn’t she have classes tomorrow?”
Poor Eileen. She clearly had a deprived college experience. One that clearly did not include a contest to build the tallest tower out of beer cans.
Eileen caught herself quickly and jumped right into the sweetness of the moment. There wasn’t a whole lot to talk about but it didn’t matter. I almost felt bad that we hadn’t thought to call her. But then when I remembered that I had spent several hours trying to arrange for a Tom Cruise impersonator to surprise her and her suitemates (Tom was already booked) (He usually is), my guilt disappeared.
At midnight she said “I’m born” and went back to her whatever. I like to call them “whatevers” – I like being in the dark. I’ve learned that this is one of the best things about your kids going away to college.
Maybe you are wondering why I selected this picture. There were many first day pictures to choose from. First of all, Eileen and I looked awful on October 3, 1989 (though decidedly yonnger) so I had to pick one we were not in. I landed on this one.
I believe it was a case of first impression. The first time I bored Scout. Eileen captured on film. It was, I’m sure, the first of many, many times in which I droned on and on about something or other and put Scout to sleep. (although I can attest to the fact that it is not difficult to get Scout to sleep – it’s just difficult to get her to wake up).
I would also like to say that I hope this is the only time a photograph of Scout wearing bunny ears appears on the internet.
While Eileen and I have no doubt hit high numbers on the boredom Richter scale with Scout, I can say without hesitation that Scout has never been boring.
That day, we had hopes and dream for our little Scoutie. We hoped she would be happy and healthy. We hoped she would do something to make the world a better place. We hoped she would be kind and generous.
I also quietly hoped she would be a Democrat. I really wasn’t sure how I would manage if we gave birth to Alex P. Keaton. After all, the day we found out Eileen was pregnant, we drove home and listened to Dan Quayle being sworn in as Vice President. What if subliminal messages turned her into someone who could turn eighteen and vote for someone like George Bush (who I know refer to as “he who shall not be named.”).
We are lucky. On so many, many levels. We are lucky to have a family. We are lucky to have three great kids. And one flaming Democrat. Two more just in time for the election of 2012.
Just trying to do our part.
Happy Birthday Scout.
Uncategorized 