Still writing about my birthday for a moment or two longer, and wanted to add that
thanks to Sam and Cj I am now able to jettison fifty-some years of unwrapping caution that was drilled into me by my mother. Ever the frugal and practical woman, in her world wrapping paper is not some disposable frippery meant for magical moments of mad mayhem in frenzied ripping. No way! It's a durable, reusable product meant to last for years, so to be handled not with kid hands, but with kid gloves.

Granted, shrinkage is an unavoidable factor, and each subsequent item to be wrapped had to be just that much smaller than the previous due to the unavoidable ravages of tape, but with careful unwrapping ... and Sheesh!, we were taught to be very careful ... there were sheets of paper wrapping gifts in my family year after year, some of which have become legend. (A certain mountain scene Christmas paper lasted more than ten years, and although the final gift to be wrapped was a tiny box with a bit of jewelry in it ... the first had been something huge, like road race set or something ... the design was recognized and the whole family suffered a pang of loss when we realized we'd seen the end of this gift wrap forever.)

Although I've had to fight a tendency to admonish Sam and Cj not to rip and be careful about tearing, I have FINALLY learned to let go!

Can I tell you how proud I am of myself for yesterday, when at the age of fifty-six I was able to let my kids rip into the wrapping paper on all my gifts, to tear it to shreds in their competitive efforts to be the first to expose the wonder of gift?

Would I have come to this peaceful place in my relationship with gift wrap if I'd not brought these two little ones into my life? Perhaps, but they sure make fifty-six nicer than it could ever have been without them.

My gift from the kids, by the way, is a nautilus shell just like the one in the photo. I've wanted one for ages, and now have one. I am SUCH a lucky woman!