Imoto turns 1 today--tanjobi omedeto! I think I have to come up with a new handle for her. To be sure, she remains a Happy Sporty Science Girl, but somehow that doesn't capture her joy in climbing over the rest of the family at bed time and early in the morning while we're trying to fall or stay asleep, the way she leans down low over the kitchen table while sitting in her high chair to see around her mom when an image on the tv interests her, her love of the grapefruit, her random screeches of glee while she's toddling around the apartment, or her attempts to imitate onechan's soccer, golf, and climbing feats.
As her first birthday approached, I'd been thinking about all the ways she might never have existed. Off the top of my head, I could tell you a good handful of stories about times in my life I could have lost it (amazingly, none even resulted in a serious injury). The fact that the tsuma and I are together in the first place is a miracle of improbability. And I won't even get into the circumstances of imoto's conception! Let's just say she's a very lucky girl and leave it at that. But aren't we all?
(Seriously, I've never understood that literary cliche about wishing you'd never been born. Do people ever really feel this way? I guess I'm like that character in Neil Gaiman's Sandman who resolves never to die because life is too interesting--and Death honors his resolution for as long as he continues to hold it.)
So these are for imoto, while I wait till she gets old enough to let me know which version she likes better.
1997 at Glastonbury:
2006 at Bonnaroo:
2006 at Berkeley:
Can't believe I didn't post any of these to last weekend's WAAGNFNP open thread! It's practically my theme song....
[Update 4/29/07: d celebrates his daughter's first birthday at Lawyers, Guns, and Money. Any other late-April birthday girls I should be aware of (besides Alter Ego's)?]
7 comments:
Happy birthday, Imoto! May you live to see the revolution. And I agree with your father - life is way too interesting. Distractingly so, in fact.
Happy Birthday, young one!
You have a once in a lifetime oportunity to double your age in only 12 months. Have at it, girl!
(And cheers to Mom and Dad, as well)
Happy Birthday Imoto!
Now, you could choose to double your age as Uncle Peter has suggested. OR you can choose one of the two sealed envelopes that your Uncle Christian is holding.
Happy Birthday, Imoto. Keeping with the lucky theme, here's some versions of "That Lucky Old Sun" (that's also about your daddy). Here's a version by Uncle Bobby, and one by Uncle Johnny, and one by Super Nifty Ultra Hip Uncle Satchelmouth (aka Satchmo, Satch, Pops, or Louis). Crawl all over 'em.
Happy Birthday, Imoto-chan!
(Yuki turned one just one day before you. We'll have to get you two together someday.)
Happy b-day! April babies rule!
Imoto would say thanks to everyone, but she can only say Baba, Dada, and Mama (in that order of freqency, I'm somewhat pleased to report). But she let me know through baby telepathy that she intends to get up with the sunrise (before 6 am here, dammit) every morning and practice her English and Japanese until she can!
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