{"id":487,"date":"2011-01-03T09:04:50","date_gmt":"2011-01-03T09:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thinplaces\/2011\/01\/happy-birthday-penny.html"},"modified":"2011-01-03T09:04:50","modified_gmt":"2011-01-03T09:04:50","slug":"happy-birthday-penny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2011\/01\/happy-birthday-penny.html","title":{"rendered":"Happy Birthday Penny"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"IMG_6330.JPG\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

For days now, I’ve been trying to figure out what I could
\nwrite about Penny’s fifth birthday. It somehow looms large and significant in
\nmy mind, and yet the words to express why slip away as soon as I try to capture
\nthem. <\/p>\n

Is it because I can remember myself at five? <\/p>\n

Or because she all of a sudden seems all grown up? <\/p>\n

Or maybe it’s that photo–where did she lose her pot belly and become a fashionista? <\/p>\n

Or that newfound confidence: “Now that I’m five, I can go
\npotty by myself.” Or starting to sound out words on flash cards… Or telling me
\na story, “Once upon a time there was a little girl and her dad…” <\/p>\n

We went out to lunch, just the two of us, the day before her
\nbirthday. I brought a book and a drawing pad to distract her, but we didn’t need
\neither. She simply sat across the table from me and we talked. There was
\nnothing profound about our time. She had a cheeseburger and French fries and
\nwas delighted to discover that a free ice cream cone came with her meal. (A few
\nbites in, I suggested “three more bites.” Somehow she negotiated me up to
\nseven, and she hasn’t let me forget it.) And we had a lovely evening at a simple
\nfamily birthday party. She reveled in the attention and her eyes got wide as
\nher dad toasted her and she enjoyed every last bite of her chocolate cake. But
\nnone of that strikes me as unusual–for Penny or for any other kid. <\/p>\n

So maybe the reason I have nothing to write is because there isn’t anything that significant about her fifth birthday. She’s just a kid who enjoys being the center of attention like anyone else. But I know there’s more to it than that. <\/p>\n

I suppose her fifth birthday seems so significant to me because
\nthere was a long time, after Penny was born, when I truly couldn’t imagine her
\ngrowing up. In fact, when I was afraid to imagine her growing up, afraid that
\ngrowing up would mean hardship for her or disappointment for us. I was afraid
\nthat I wouldn’t know her, that we wouldn’t be able to communicate, that she
\nwould be fading away rather than coming to life. But long ago, my fear turned to delight, and the delight only increases.\n<\/p>\n

I could leave it there, but I think it’s important to record
\nthat Penny is no wonder-child. She whines. She complains. She cries and pouts
\nand goes limp and makes me think I am a failure as a mother when I can’t manage
\nto get two children out the door in the morning. My wonder at her life is not
\nbecause her life is exceptional, or because she is all sweetness and light. My delight
\nin her life is just how typical it is–a life of challenges and joys, a life of
\ncrying and laughing, a life of anger and embrace, a rich life. A full life. <\/p>\n

Happy Birthday, Penny. I love you.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For days now, I’ve been trying to figure out what I could write about Penny’s fifth birthday. It somehow looms large and significant in my mind, and yet the words to express why slip away as soon as I try to capture them. Is it because I can remember myself at five? 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Two major life experiences have shaped her writing and her faith\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcaring for her mother-in-law as she battled cancer and welcoming her daughter Penny into the world after she was diagnosed at birth with Down syndrome. Both experiences expanded and enriched her understanding of what it means to be human and to receive each and every person as a gift.\u00c2\u00a0 A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, and the forthcoming A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House). Her essays have appeared in First Things, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Century, ChristianityToday.com, and Bloom, among other online venues.","sameAs":["http:\/\/amyjuliabecker.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}