This Thursday (Feb. 6th) is Talen's 8th birthday. This is also the time of the year where we seem to make a surprise visit to the hospital, or at least, that's how the last two years have played out.
On his 6th birthday, he was so sick that he didn't show the slightest interest in opening his presents or having a party. Two days later he was taking an ambulance ride to a nine day stay in the hospital, courtesy of a severe pneumonia. That hospital visit eventually lead to his DMD diagnosis, several months later.
Shortly before his 7th birthday, he slipped and fell on his way to bed. That little spill sent him to the hospital with a spiral fracture in his femur. That year, he spent his birthday in a wheelchair with two pins in his leg.
Both years he didn't really get to have the birthday he wanted. This year, we decided to go really big to compensate. We're talking I-bought-this-ferrari-to-compensate-for-my-tiny-package big.
For starters, he wanted a suit to wear to his birthday, so we got him a Toomee-sized black suit. On Saturday, Feb. 8th, a limo is going to take him and some of his friends for a quick ride before heading to Cinebarre at the Arboretum. We've rented a movie theater to ourselves (which was surprisingly not *that* much more than somewhere like Monkey Joe's), where we're going to watch The Lego Movie.
The fun part (IMO) is we're getting some friends and family together to make a big fuss when the limo pulls up. People are bringing signs, cameras, other sorts of things to make him feel like a big deal when he steps out at the theater.
So if you are free this Saturday at 7PM, come meet us at the Cinebarre at the Arboretum and show Talen some love. We can't go back and make the crappy birthdays better, but we can try to retroactively compensate. :)
