Not Christina’s Birthday

“And surely you’ll buy your pint cup, and surely I’ll buy mine.

And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.”

-Auld Lang Syne

            Today is Beth and Nick’s 23^rd birthday. And believe it or not, Vito turns one today as well.

            Seriously, what were the odds of Vito sharing a birthday with the twins?

            Not low enough, according to Christina, the only non-parent member of the household without a New Year’s Day birthday.

            When she was little, she was always miffed with the twins' Jan. 1 birthday. Think of it, two out of the three kids, older than you, get to open a whole new round of gifts on the first day of the year.

            Just when she seemed to be getting over it, we learned Vito was a New Year’s puppy.

            “Oh great,” she mumbled upon seeing the birth date on his registration papers. “We’ve gone from twins to triplets.”

            As the red-letter day approached, I could see she was upset. So I poured her a glass of Diet Coke and me a double vodka -- hard alcohol to deal with the inexplicable, mother-guilt brought on by a coincidence of birth, one that could only upset a high-schooler with a house in the suburbs, a car, and a bank account.

            Poor Christina -- she wasn’t born on the same day as the twins and Vito.

            Why, God, why?

            The booze loosened me up enough to address the elephant in the room.

            “Think,” I said, gulping the double. “You get your own special day, and the twins have to share theirs with a dog.”

            “I want to share my birthday with the dog,” she pouted.

            “That may be the strangest sentence ever uttered,” I said.

            “I know,” she said. “It’s just that there’s the three of them, and then there’s me.”

            “Well then,” I said philosophically, feeling the alcohol begin to soak my brain. “Consider it this way. Your father and I only have so much money. Having two kids with birthdays exactly one week after Christmas leaves us broke. We always have to cut back on what we might like to give the twins. Now, add in one more gift for the dog, and …”

             “… the twins get even less,” she said, her eyes beaming with enlightenment and glee.

            “Exactly,” I slurred.

            “Happy New Year,” she said. “To me!”