So we were at the train station an hour ago buying Carrick's monthly commutation pass when I realized that her 21st birthday was just four days away.

"Listen, with all the hullaballoo these last few weeks, I forgot to ask you what you wanted for your birthday," I said. "Has mom talked to you?"

"No, but please tell her to not buy any clothes for me. Just give me the money and I'll get the clothes."

Ouch. But I've been there. I think I still have some cranberry Haggar slacks buried somewhere in a drawer.

"Well, I do have a surprise planned."

"A surprise?""

"Yep," I said, beaming.

"It wouldn't be an iPod, would it?"

"How did you know," I screeched.

"Because I read about it on the website," she said.

Hmmm. I'm so used to this story being in the drawer, so to speak, that I forget that people other than The Editors Who Say No Thanks are reading it.