T
he cascade of first-birthdays begins -- Ari's this week, Emmett's in September, promptly followed by Roby's in October, and then a bit of a wait until May for John's. It's wild the way that social gatherings have changed for me and my friends; there are now at least one, and up to four very small babies present every time, which really seems to solidify us all in the flow of time and generation. We're shifting into parties of families, rather than a collection of friends. Obviously, these were the first kinds of parties that I remember, when I myself was a child, and now they're welcomely returning after a long absence.