goddaughter

Unfortunately, my buddy Mike has a strict "no photographs of my kids" policy (even though two of his kids are now old enough to have Twitter accounts displaying not only photos of themselves, in one case, but also their real full names), so I can't show off pictures of my lovely goddaughter, whom I'll identify here only as R. Today, September 10, is R's birthday. She's part of an annual procession: September 10 is her birthday; September 12 is my buddy Steve doCarmo's birthday (46 this year; he's a 69er comme moi); September 14 is my brother David's birthday (39 this year; a bicentennial baby, he's on the precipice of 40).

R is now eighteen and in college. Hard to believe. I remember when she was a wee thing in diapers, bawling and squalling. She's at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU); my understanding is that she's interested in doing something science-oriented. I wish her good fortune, and I hope she enjoys her undergrad years. May she make lots of friends, stand in awe of sharp-minded professors, learn the value of a dollar as she figures out budgetary issues on her own, and grow as a person.

Happy Birthday, R! Much love and many hugs to you. Enjoy turning 18, but don't get stupid-drunk doing it.


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