Another birthday for my daughter brings with it the realization that the children of Park Slope are growing up fast. Last year’s babies are this year’s toddlers. Yesterday’s pre-schoolers are lining up at PS 321. Elementary begets middle school and perhaps most shocking of all, an inordinate number of Slope kids have become bona-fide teenagers.

As the kids change, the parents change too. New jobs, new babies, new interests, new outlooks. Some marriages survived. Some did not. Life is an ever-changing parade of situations and choices.

While birthdays may induce maudlin thoughts for me, it brings nothing but excitement for my girl. She woke up early this morning ready to do her hair and "dress special" for her in-class birthday.  Birthdays at this age are all about feeling special and being the center of attention.

As we age, birthdays lose some of that specialness. They usher in feelings of shock, fear, and denial: I’m not really THAT old, as well as a desire to stop the clock.

But maybe we "grown-ups" shouldn’t dispense with the specialness that birthdays bring. It’s a chance to do our hair, "dress special" and take our place at the center of attention.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB