The tenth birthday

It seems like yesterday, but really it was 7:30 a.m., when we got up and D. opened his presents. Mostly video games and even an XBox 360 (from his brother). Then I cleaned a bunch and baked an apple pie, and finally at 6 p.m. the three guests arrived. Pizza was eaten, four-player XBox games were played, and a Nerf war was conducted in our back yard 'til it was too dark to see each other. Now they're all sitting shirtless on a big mattress in front of the TV, creating XBox characters of themselves. Soon, Madagascar 2 and popcorn. Meanwhile, I'm in here, reading the account of Lord Peter Wimsey's initial courtship of Harriet Vane, the book that comes before Gaudy Night, which I've read several times.