Wednesday was Lauren’s 23rd birthday. I sometimes wonder whether she feels like she is 23 or 93 or 3.

She MOVES like she is 93 – a combination of severe scoliosis, poor depth perception and lack of exercise. Her rare, but memorable, temper tantrums and fondness of Dora the Explorer and Handy Manny episodes lead me to believe that she feel s more like a three year old.

But the real reason for my speculation is that Lauren seems to have no real concept of time. Today, yesterday, next week, tomorrow, last night, this morning, last week… are all synonymous in Lala land.

This makes for some interesting miscommunications from time to time.

A couple of years ago, Lauren came home from work with a bag full of gifts. It seems that they had thrown her a birthday party that day. “But your birthday is in February, Lauren. This is August.” She would NOT be dissuaded. Someone had told her that her birthday was going to fall on a Tuesday that year, so she had informed everyone that her birthday was on Tuesday.

This year, I did not tell Lauren that her birthday fell on a Wednesday, so we celebrated it on Saturday.

Since the other kids get to have a special “friend” party, I try to do a little something special for Lauren’s birthday too. This year, we took her bowling with the whole family.

I love to bowl with Lauren. It gives me an excuse to ask the attendant to put up the bumpers. (Somehow I still manage to get gutter balls.)

Jack enjoyed bowling with Lauren too – until all of us, including Lauren, started to mimic his distinct bowling style.

It works for him. He beat all the girls.

Afterwards we went to Lauren’s favorite restaurant, Las Margaritas. Ok, it probably was not really her favorite restaurant, but one of the great things about Lauren is that she is easily swayed by the power of suggestion. Besides, now that she’s gotten to wear their sombrero, it will certainly be her favorite.

Then it was back home for cake and ice cream. Lauren’s special cake was a giant cupcake. This one was much easier than Jack’s Lego block cake; it’s just a special pan. Although the pan cost as much as a bakery cake, so EVERYONE might be getting giant cupcake cakes for a while.

And, then, of course, there were presents; a dvd, some pictures and wall stickers to decorate her room, cheery valentine socks, colorful underwear, and best of all, a Dora dinner set, complete with a plate, a cup and a bowl.

“A DORA BOWL!” she exclaimed. “Adorable,” Rick replied. We all laughed, including Lauren.

Lauren’s brain never ceases to amaze me. She has no comprehension of time. She can read only the simplest of words and she can’t follow multi-step instructions. But she has no problem picking up on her dad’s silly puns. One of the wonders of living in Lala Land.