We celebrated Nico’s 27th birthday at the Dumpling House in Cambridge this evening. The dinner was great, the conversation even better, and the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company; priceless.

To date, I have been the keeper of birth certificates, social security cards, and vaccination records for the children. This evening each received an envelope containing their respective documents and are now in charge of their security and retention. They all groused. Perhaps the handoff represented the final acknowledgment of their status as bonafide adults. I, on the other hand, felt a sense of liberation from a responsibility I had grown weary of. Although he chose to pose with the meal’s leftovers, Nicolai’s package also included his Master’s Degree diploma which arrived at our house earlier in the week.