I was thinking the other day about some friends I haven't talked to since I left Los Angeles for good in 1999. I was thinking how astounded they would probably be to know that I had managed to keep two children alive and well for ten years now. What they would probably say is, *I think you mean your wife has managed to keep two children alive and well for ten years*. And of course they'd be right. 

Whatever the case, somehow, our twins are ten. Double digits. A decade old.

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At least with a decade behind us I feel better about the fact that I can’t remember what I did without you. And I stand by the fact it couldn’t have been much fun. No offense to those friends back in LA. Whatever it was, it wasn't this good, I know that for sure.

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One of the things the girls really wanted this year were cameras. When I got them I was mostly thinking about how cool it would be to see the world through their eyes. I wasn't really thinking about that fact that one of the things in the world as they see it would be, um, me.

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I think it was the gifts that made my realize my babies aren't babies anymore. You don't give cameras and knives to babies. Well, we didn't anyway. Then again, while everything is always changing there are still constants. There's still no oven in the bus, and everyone still wants [chocolate waffle cake](https://luxagraf.net/essay/waffle-world).

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