Dawn Is Me

I’m celebrating.

I QUIT SMOKING ONE YEAR AGO TODAY!!!

You may not be impressed but I am. Especially in light of the fact that Gino has continued to smoke this entire year — although, in justice to him, not in the house.

(I wish he had told me back when he did quit — for a whole year, too! — that having me in the apartment, still a-puffing away, was making it harder for him. I would have stopped smoking in the apartment and he might have been able to stay on the wagon. Oh well … !)

Meanwhile, Gina is home this week and we did something I’ve been threatening to do for years. We had a Girls’ Night Out and took ourselves off to Interskate 88 for a few hours of roller skating.

Do you think it’s pathetic that I so have no life that I can get excited about going roller skating?

Well, hey … screw you.

I like roller skating. It’s good exercise and it’s a lot of fun. I haven’t done it in years, so I’m not all that good at it. For that matter, I’ve never been especially good at it. I just like to do it.

Besides, it is a form of physical activity that Kimmie appears to enjoy (always excluding sex, of course), which is something of a miracle all by itself.

So, once I got my skates on and got to my feet, I did several laps that fell under the category of, “Oh, god, I don’t remember how to do this, I’m gonna kill myself … !”

But, after that, I started getting the hang of it again. I’m not going to say it’s like riding a bicycle, exactly, but it wasn’t far removed.

The best part is that now, on the day after, my legs are not rubbery or even a little bit sore (many thanks to The FIRM and, specifically, to Emily and Kelsie, who kick my butt on a regular basis).

And, at the prompting of my daughters, I’ve decided that I’m going to do this regularly … maybe weekly. It’s a real cheap form of entertainment and I really don’t get out enough.

Besides, I think I’m going to enjoy spending time with Kimmie (and Gina, when she’s home) outside this house.

That was a good idea of mine. (See? I have them occasionally.)

I haven’t been in here in a little while, so I haven’t told you yet that we’ve had something of an event in the Baker household.

Gina has had a birthday.

Not just any birthday, either. Gina turned 20 last Saturday.

Now, compared with either 18 or 21, you may not think of 20 as all that big a deal. Ah, but you see, turning 20 (as Gina herself pointed out to … somebody) means you are officially no longer a teenager.

It’s funny, we notice things like the “official” beginning of teenagerdom at the age of 13. I’m sorry to say that I,for one, had never considered its natural end at age 20.

This is why I need children, to teach me these things.

As events have unfolded, I soon had real and tangible proof that Gina is, indeed, no longer a teenager.

You see, a couple of months ago, in a moment of sisterly initiation, I happened to see her carefully instructing her younger sister. “Rule number one of being a teenager,” she told Kimmie. “You must have your cell phone with you at all times.”

So, the day before yesterday, when I heard Kimmie yelling at Gina (who had just gone downstairs) that she’d gotten a text message, I realized that she really truly had passed beyond teenagerdom.

Welcome to the world of the Grown Up, Gina!

Anyway, I’m about to head into the kitchen with my teenaged daughter and my no-longer-a-teenaged daughter to start baking pies. That’s ’cause TOMORROW IS THANKSGIVING AND DIETING BE DAMNED!

-ahem- Excuse me.

Happy Turkey Day to anybody who might stumble upon these ramblings. Do stop to ponder things you are thankful for between bites. I’m sure there’s something …

I fail as a parent.

Kimmie — beautiful, witty, darling Kimmie — came to me, humbly asking my opinion, and I was unable to satisfy her.

She asked, “Mom, have my boobs gotten bigger?”

And I was forced to reply, “You know, Kimmie, I don’t know. I don’t really spend all that much time staring at your boobs.”

How terrible is that? Her own mother, and I didn’t even notice!!!

I FAIL!!!

Seriously, though, it’s kind of amazing to me that so many people in my family seem preoccupied with Kimmie’s boobs. I mean, there are so many other interesting things to think about. For that matter, there are so many other much more interesting things to ponder about Kimmie.

But, between Gina and Kimmie and their comparative boob conversation, and Ricky trying to get on her good side by saying nice things about them to her (which is decidedly bizarre all by itself), and Derek humoring her, we have recently become a very mammorily conversant family.

I know I’ve said this before but … hey, I just live here.