Over the past week we celebrated Huck’s 12th birthday many times over with Aunt Jeni’s Annual March Visit, two birthday cakes and a couple dozen cupcakes, the creation of Huck’s Instagram Slime Channel to fulfill his latest obsession, a Quiz Bowl practice complete with surprise Huck-themed trivia questions that his pals mostly aced, an exciting tornado warning that found us huddled together on the floor of our laundry room, a tour of Huck’s future junior high, amazing gfits including 100 grams of gallium, iron filings, an essential oil diffuser, books galore and backgammon, lazy hours in pajamas, an insane thunder and lightening hail storm right at bedtime, the official arrival of our tulips and daffodils, and an afternoon of laser tag with Huck’s BFFs that ended with hot chocolate in Christmas mugs while it snowed. We’ve experienced every season so far this March. Today spring is back.

I was responsible for the gallium Huck received for his birthday. It was nothing he asked for. It was my little surprise, and I now admit I may have made a mistake. Within a few hours Huck had almost completely destroyed our black kitchen counter tops with this substance that is sometimes solid and sometimes liquid and basically has the power to ruin families and appliances. For the rest of the week, Huck left the gallium in a strange solid form on a cooking tray in the kitchen until Saturday morning when I asked him to do whatever it took to get it all back into the containers it came in. After sweetly reminding me that the gallium was my idea, Huck called on Troy to help with this impossible task. Every time I walked through the kitchen I was treated to a Shakespearean-like tragedy that involved Troy wearing his amazing fireplace gloves while attempting to melt the gallium without murdering our son. At one point Huck was leaning against the counter, casually chewing ice from a large bowl while Troy breathed heavily and muttered angry things under his breath. Next thing I knew, Huck was on his bed sobbing because Troy accidentally lost half of the gallium down the drain. I watched from a safe distance as Troy unsuccessfully attempted to pick up the remaining gallium that became liquid every time he touched it. He finally shouted, “I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING!” and it was then that I had to run out of the room so no one would see how hard I was laughing.

Most of our celebrations were with Jeni (including the first gallium disaster) as she has been a birthday fixture since Huck’s very first. Though this year marks the last one before teen-hood, he shows no sign of wanting anything to change. Judging from their heart-wrenching goodbye at the airport, I think this may be going on well into his thirties.

I hope I can come, too.