Mar. 25, 1998

I've hit another milestone. My younger child William turned 16, and it was a truly fun event. We actually celebrated twice. On the anniversary of his birth the whole family and our friend from Denmark went to Beppo's to eat, drink, and be merry. Will selected a fine meal for everyone, and we ate with gusto while crammed into a booth meant for only 4 people. The waiters' ritual birthday sing-along was not such a nasty embarrassment, mainly because we were in a small secluded room with only one other table of diners, and THEY had the ceremony first.

The celebration that really got to me (and probably most pleased my son) was the rousing poker party he had for at least a dozen of his friends. Our place filled quickly with rowdy loud guys, all anxious to clean out each other's pockets in an all-night card game. One fellow succeeded quite well, ending up by 4:00 AM being $27 richer. Everyone else ended up with $5 worth of entertainment.

What pleased me the most with this revelry was the intense happiness of all the participants. The noise, the occasional cigar puffing, and the continuous eating created an atmosphere of pure joy. These guys knew how to party and how to have a great time, and that has to be the best thing about being a teenager. They even cleaned up thoroughly before leaving at noon the next day. What more could any mother ask for, right?