Christopher's Fourth Birthday

WHEN CHRISTOPHER was born, we came from afar to celebrate the birth of the first new leaf on the family tree in twenty years. We came bearing gifts of bourbon, Scotch, gin, and vodka. We stood in clusters, drinks in hand, and toasted the tiny babe until we ran out of superlatives. As long as we didn't run out of booze, the celebration was a success. We became children ourselves once more, dancing in the driveway, tooting horns, playing with his toys, doing handstands on the balcony, and unwittingly drawing the blueprint for all of Christopher's birthday parties to come.