Things I Forgot To Share With You Part III

Elise, Kid 5, turned 7 on the 7th. Her golden birthday. We had a really fun time by going to what has kind of become a Batiansila family birthday haunt - the Mineshaft. It's good pizza and a pretty good deal so kids can shove tokens into machines and then get tickets and then trade them for fake teeth, little plastic rings, stuff like that. Believe me, a good time.

Elise has a penchant for sometimes being completely silent - mute almost. You can ask her a question and she'll kinda stare at you without much to say. This is largely because she suffers from the older sibling syndrome - where your older sib will act as your agent. Ask a younger kid his/her name, and the older kid will leap on scene: "Her name is Elise!," answering any question you got for her. "She doesn't like melted cheese!" "She's just tired!"

But when Elise gets wound up, she's as loopy a kid as there is. Loud, even. And she dances and can't stop turning cartwheels. This is what I see when I see her playing with her two younger brothers, this giddy, effervescent kid.

Elise was born just a few weeks after 9/11. I remember being so scared then, scared of what was to come. Scared for the life she'd have. Her presence in my life and in the life of her family - particularly her little brothers - has been about joy, and a smile with big eyes. And cartwheels.