GIFTS

It’s my birthday! And two days ago, the proof of my fairy tale collection The Poof! Academy arrived in the mail, just as I’d hoped—the best birthday gift ever! At long last I’m able to hold my first book in my hand.

At noon Ella took a lunch-hour break, and we went over to my godkids’ home, three blocks away. Leia had invited us over to see the transformation of her formerly cluttered back yard into a vegetable garden. We arrived to find Happy Birthday balloons bobbing in the breeze and her large patio table laden with bouquets of flowers, birthday cards, and a gift bag. My first surprise birthday party ever! The patio chairs were pulled back so we could all keep our distance—Leia was eager to reassure us that she’d disinfected them—and the five of us, including Michael (age 20) and Emerald (17), chatted through masks for over an hour. I’m afraid I did the lion’s share of the talking, I was so eager to tell them the saga of how my book had finally come to be—almost—published.

Then, in the late afternoon, Ella and I made lemon jello cake from a recipe I’ve had since I was as a teenager. We poured lemon syrup on it after baking—and ate it while it was still warm.