… so good on the car. It is still shifting smoothly. I can only attribute it to one of two things 1) the new PCV valve, 2) something my ex used to call PFM (the “p”=pure and the “m”=magic; I’ll let you fill in the rest).

I bought Sarah a copy of Dragonology and its companion book, The Dragonology Handbook for her 12th birthday, which is today. She’s spending it with her dad. The books look really good. I’m going to sit down and look them over before I wrap them. Sarah is really into dragons right now. She wanted to read The Hobbit, because she heard there was a dragon in it. We have been reading it together, and we’re not to the part yet where Smaug is destroyed. She is rooting for Smaug, and I hope she won’t be disappointed when he goes down. At any rate, I hope she likes her birthday present. I can’t believe she’s 12.

Twelve years ago at almost this exact moment, I was giving birth to her. She was born in a Navy hospital. It was windy and snowy outside. I didn’t get to hold her after she was born. Instead of asserting my rights as a mother, I patiently waited while my mother and ex passed her back and forth. Then they took her away. I asked my doctor when I’d get to hold her, and he looked sort of stricken — he hadn’t realized I hadn’t been able to — and he said the pediatrician would be checking her in the nursery; after that, maybe. I waited and waited. I went into shock and had to go into Recovery before they took me to my room. I remember getting out of bed, clutching the back of my hospital gown closed, grabbing my IV cart, and padding down the hall to look at her through the glass. The nurses sort of glared at me, but I told them I hadn’t seen my daughter. That was when I first got a really good look at her. She looked like her daddy. Still does. Some time, hours later, they wheeled her bassinette into my room, which was stifling. My roommate had had a C-section. She had a baby boy — her second. He was huge — something like 9 or 10 pounds. I wished later that I had got her address so we could keep in touch.

Sarah really loves to read, and I like to take the credit for that. I still read to her. I don’t think that’s something people totally grow out of — enjoying being read to — why else would books on tape be so popular? She likes school. She’s neat kid, and we have some pretty interesting talks.