She definitely successfully made it through a rite of passage on the eve of her birthday: puking, all on her own, into a public toilet.
I had been sitting in the viewing area watching her swim team practice, seeing her bobbing up and down doing her breast stroke, when another mom started talking to me. I turned away to converse with this mother, and when I turned back to look through the viewing window, I couldn't see Julia anywhere.
A few moments later, she appeared at my side, wet and dripping in her swimsuit and swim cap.
ME: What's up, honey?
JULIA: Can I talk to you in private?
I quickly excused myself to the other mother, and went around the corner to see what Julia wanted to tell me.
ME: What is it?
JULIA: I told Coach that I wasn't feeling well, and he said, "Like, how?" and I said I felt like I needed to throw up, and he said okay, I could get out, and then I did.
ME: You did get out, or you did throw up?
JULIA: I threw up.
ME: Where??
JULIA: In the locker room toilet.
It turns out she also spattered her swimsuit pretty nicely. Poor kiddo. I got her into the shower and had her rinse her suit and clean herself, and then we headed home to get her into her pjs and into bed.
So our poor newly 9-year-old had to miss school on her birthday, which was a disappointment, as she was eager to bring in the birthday poster she had made, along with her white tee-shirt that would soon be decorated with permanent-markered signatures from all her classmates. On the bright side, however, she got a chance to hang out in her pajamas and watch the new DVD I had given her for her birthday: the Canadian miniseries "Anne of Green Gables." Sometimes we all need a pj and tv day.
Luckily, Julia was feeling recovered enough to go out to the restaurant of her choice for a birthday dinner, although she didn't have much appetite for her mac n cheese. Both girls represented the Rowe family with class and style at this nicer-than-average restaurant:
Happy Birthday, my dear Julia!
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