on the kids birthdays marty hides slips of paper around the house that (1) number and (2) read the number they are turning (e.g. reference). the night before bella's birthday this year she said not only did her mother not need to do it but she shouldn't do it because she, bella, had outgrown that. marty sagely ignored this commandment and carried on. come morning, the boys, since they have not outgrown it, excitedly helped bella hunt down her numbers which she kindly played along with by celebrating each find and saying all the right ohhhs and ahhhs at all the right places.

as bella left for the bus stop i asked how many she found. she said twelve. i commented that for someone who outgrew the ritual i was struck at her inability to find all of her marks. she made an oh-well face at me and moved on. then at her bus stop she gave a full, real laugh at seeing her final number out in the wild. i deem this proof that no one is too old to have the day they joined a family, and a super-cool world, celebrated.