ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR THE MISTRESS

The Mistress of Sarcasm - our baby daughter! - turns thirty-one today.

She’ll celebrate the occasion with friends in her little community in upstate New York.  Since moving to that part of the world not quite two years ago, she has surrounded herself with all manner of wonderful, interesting, and creative people... one of the reasons she feels so at home there.  We miss having her close by, but we understand that the sylvan fields of the Hudson River Valley satisfy her soul in a way Atlanta never could.

Her artistic imagination continues to amaze and enthrall us.  She can take a formless, lifeless lump of wool and convert it into a charming finger puppet beastie with its own personality... a helluva way to make a living, but it seems to be working for her.  As someone with an engineering background, all I can do is sit back and gape, slack-jawed, as she works her magic.  “Making friends,” she calls it.

It hardly seems like thirty-one years have gone by since we first held her in our arms, marveling at her considerable thatch of dark hair... and yet, somehow, they have.  The Missus and I have seen our little girl negotiate the waters of infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, public school, pubescence, adolescence, college, and those first steps on the road of independence.  There are some treacherous shoals in amongst those waters, but the Mistress being a reasonably levelheaded individual, her personal Life-Boat has managed to stay afloat and in good form - keyn ayin hara.

I’ve told her many times that even if  she were not my daughter, I would still hope to have her as a friend... and I really mean it.

Happy birthday, my sweet daughter!  Enjoy the day, and may this next year bring you health, happiness, and success in your endeavors - without limit to any good thing.