7 – the number of years my daughter’s been alive
4 – the number of days after my daughter’s actual birthday when we held her birthday party
24 – people who attended said party, including the guest of honor and her parents (i.e. us)
7 – the number of Harry Potter books my daughter now owns as a result of generous family members
4 – the number of snack bowls available at the party, each named after a house of Hogwarts (e.g., Gryffindor grapes)
0 – slices of Raspberry Elegance cake from Publix remaining after the party
10 – the number of cupcakes left, since even the kids wanted the scrumptious cake
0 – minutes of Quidditch played since it was raining heavily outside
30 – minutes spent on the back porch maneuvering an outdoor remote control car in, shall we say, adverse conditions
2.5 – number of hours my daughter spent with her best friend from kindergarten who is in a different first-grade class
3 – number of half-chewed and spit-out Bernie Botts’ Every Flavour Beans found in my daughter’s sink after the party was over
1 – very happy birthday girl
2 – tired but relieved parents
Learning Together 