BB's First Birthday

It was BB's first birthday today, and my mother almost died. She was at Huey's Hot Dogs with my dad, and she was talking while chewing. This is not in itself unusual. My mother is frequently talking, and it tends to overlap with the dining experience.

What was unusual was the extra deliciously crispy fries that accompany every Huey's Hot Dog. One got lodged in my mother's throat and she began to choke. She's sucking in air and can't breathe, and she's pointing to her own belly trying to communicate "heimlich," and this is where the story gets truly tragic: my dad does not do the heimlich. Instead he pats her on the back. It's not the right move, and Dad after 40 years of marriage, knows this immediately.

Fortunately for our family and the future of BB's birthday celebrations, my mother is a woman who even while choking does not sit idly by. She moved through the hot dog dining area pointing to her throat and making constricted noises until a man (not my father) hugged her around the middle and dislodged the French Fry. Saved!

When I picked them up at my house this evening, my Dad was in the clear and distinct (hot) dog house.

"She made me go online to learn the heimlich," he said.

"I did," said mom from the backseat. We were on the way to get BB from day care.

"I think I know it now," he offered.

"I'm not talking to you," said Mom.

But she did talk to him, and we scooped BB up at day care where she had enjoyed pound cake and a birthday candle, and whisked her off to our favorite local organic-sustainable restaurant where she once puked all over me during brunch. We had a nice birthday dinner. BB ate rabbit confit and smoked mozzarella flatbread, but sort of hated it. The jar of tomato-carrot mush was a much bigger hit. Anyway,we're glad that everyone is still alive.

Happy birthday, BB!