While she will get a chance to celebrate with some friends
next weekend, this weekend, we focused on family time, and it has been a great
day. As time with Camille would have it,
there have been a multitude of unforgettable Camille-style one-liners one
second mixed in with sentimental-ness the next.
On her birthday eve last night after I had made sure she had
dutifully put in her eye drop, she told me of the things she wanted to do
today. Mostly, this girl loves the gift
of time, and the fact that Grammie and Pappie were here and Aunt Sissy would be
over made it ever-so-sweeter. Her lone
specific request was a homemade breakfast (inclusive of bacon). Oh, and she was excited to see what presents
she might receive. And she would love a
game marathon.
But, as I shut off the light and started to shut the door,
she said, with utter sweetness:
“Mom…”
“Yes, Camille?”
“Thanks for giving me such a good life.”
“Oh, Camille. Thanks
for living such a great life.”
Cue giggles:
“And PLEASE don’t forget to go buy bacon.”
This pretty much sums up her age and her personality. So reflective on one hand but so goofy on the
other.
Admittedly, we took the plunge and got her a phone. I won’t go in to the deliberation that went
into this decision. She’s not one to beg
for material things; in fact, she has been so concerned that she might lose it
that she has shied from vocalizing that she wanted one. Bill and I made the purchase last week, and
in our nighttime wrap up last night, she said, “You know when I said before
that I didn’t want a phone? I’m
wondering now if it would be a good idea…”
So, when she opened it up today, she was a million shades of
excited. Being the tech-lover that she
is, she was all over it, entering the numbers of family and sending messages
off to a few friends. It was fun to see
this passage—seeing how far she has come.
Her giggling and laughter was contagious as a constellation of pings
came flying back her way.
Later in the afternoon, as she was getting ready to go out
in the water with Liv, she approached me with a very somber look on her
face. I could tell that something was
wrong, but knew that it would take a bit of coaxing to get it out, as it so
goes with Camille.
“Mom, I love you.
Thanks for today.”
“I love you, too.
What’s the matter?”
“Well, I’m wondering now that I have a phone, I probably
need to pay the bill…and I don’t have a….do I need to start giving you my
allowance?”
“Dad and I will pay it for now…you can pay it when you’re
older.”
“Whew! All the
sudden, I feel so much better about this!”
And off she flew.
After having had birthdays that were pretty atypical,
complete with ER visits and glaucoma, I am pretty tickled that today, we got to
bask in what was seemingly a pretty typical birthday eleven-year-old
style.
I am grateful.
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