Did Somebody Say Teenager?

Turning 13 is no small thing. Of course, for Sarah, turning any age is no small thing. She starts planning big a couple of months out, and, by the time her birthday arrives, we've negotiated down to a celebration we both can live with.

We took her neighborhood friends Lucia and Julia to a trampoline park a couple of days before her birthday. They bounced and flipped and tested their strength and skills. At one point, three boys challenged them to a dodge ball game. I was so proud of how fierce the girls were! Afterward, they had cupcakes and gifts at home.

After the girls left, we ordered Chinese for dinner and watched the opening ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics. (Sarah proceeded to watch all the prime time coverage of the games--until close to midnight, every night of the competition, at home and at the cabin.)

The next day, we had my mom, George, Brian, Forrest, Sam, Kelley, and Kelley's girlfriend Courtney over to celebrate Mom's birthday (the 23rd) and Sarah's birthday (the 25th). It was the first family celebration since the pandemic started, and it was a joy to have everyone together, telling stories and laughing like old times.

By the time Sarah's actual birthday arrived on Sunday, most of the celebrating was done. She opened a gift (aviators) and enjoyed a doughnut for breakfast, then we drove to Vermont for the week. We had leftover Chinese food for dinner, and she opened her other gifts (Nike Pro shorts and a Vikings beach towel).

Sarah stayed up late streaming coverage of the Olympics, while Don and I went to bed...a fitting role reversal for us and our new teen.

Postscript:

I believe everyone deserves a homemade birthday cake, and I usually enjoy baking what's requested. This year, Sarah asked for filled cupcakes with mousse-like frosting and Pinned some recipes for me to look at. I picked out chocolate ones with homemade caramel filling and caramel frosting, sprinkled with sea salt. 

I set about planning all the steps involved: Shop on Tuesday, make the caramel Wednesday night and the cupcakes Thursday night, and frost them Friday morning. Meanwhile, prepare for the family gathering Saturday and the trip to Vermont on Sunday.

By Monday night, I was overwhelmed and decided to cut myself some slack and order the darn things. Tuesday, I called bakeries to see if they could make them, striking out with a few places before succeeding with the Old Creamery Coop in Cummington. 

When I asked the woman if she could do "mousse-like frosting," she said, "That would slide off the cupcake." When I requested caramel-filled and caramel frosting, she said, "Wow, that sounds sweet." I told her, "That's what she asked for; just do what you can, and can you sprinkle some sea salt on them?"

All along, I failed to confirm with Sarah what she wanted. She asked Thursday what kind I ordered and seemed puzzled when I told her. "They're the ones you pinned!" I said, and she replied, "Okay."

When she bit into a cupcake Friday afternoon, she said, "The frosting has salt on it!" "That's what you asked for," I said. "I did? It tastes kind of weird," she said. "How's the caramel filling?" "Okay." Somehow, I had sunk an enormous amount of emotional energy, and not an insignificant amount of money, into getting exactly what she wanted, while missing the mark completely.

Meanwhile, for my mom, I decided to buy a carrot cake like the one Don bought at the grocery store for my birthday. Alas, when he went shopping Thursday, they were gone, and he ended up with a red velvet cake. Not the same...not even close.