Happy Birthday, Neel!

A long time ago, my friend Megan told me that she and her family did "highs and lows" where at the end of the day, they each listed the highs and lows of their day. As with most of my parenting precepts, I promptly stole that idea and pawned it off as my own. For years, each night at bedtime, I would say to Callum, "Highs and lows..." and we'd race each other to say, "You go first!" Sometimes it's hard to pick. You hope you have fewer lows and many highs to choose among. Sometimes it's a fine line that we walk between joy and sorrow. Today is Neel's birthday, and quite honestly I know of no other man deserving of celebration of this one. I'd whisk him off to the most beautiful garden in the world if I could (any suggestions?) and let him wander around for hours. We're cooking out (his choice) and we're opening presents. But grown-up birthdays aren't always jubilant ones.

We did not get the news we were hoping for about our girl.

She's with us now, and she's not in pain. Next week we'll take some (non-invasive) steps to keep her with us as long as we can.

We're heartbroken. We're heartbroken.