Madeleina's 18th!

So yesterday, April 9, was my daughter Madeleina's 18th. Happy Birthday, baby! We made it! That was the promise, and I'll try to be around for another 10-20, but we got this far and that's fantastic. At the same time, she had a show last night, Leading Ladies, by Ludwig, a bawdy farce about people trying to get at a dying woman's money. Very well done. Madeleina was the old lady and she, like the rest of the cast, worked very well together and were splendid.
    After the show, Chepa, the babies Sierra and Alexa, and my grand daughter Taylor Rain came over for ice cream cake and birthday gifts and Italo, my oldest was here working on the bathroom and he stopped long enough to sing and at one point, when I thanked him for his work he stopped me in my tracks with: "Hey, Pops! You don't thank me. We're partners in this life and the next life!" And I rejoindered, "And probably in the last life too." I love my boys and nearly died when he said that. Can you imagine hearing it? Just beautiful.
    Of course, that didn't mean he swept up all the nails and bits of tile from the bathroom floor that my feet found at my 3 AM piss. No matter. Small price and a limited amount of blood to pay.
    So my daughter is 18. That's something. She's smart, beautiful, talented and can help me run a ceremony like a 300 year old shaman. I'm saying out loud that I'm very, very proud to be her dad this time around. I have not regretted one instant of being her dad, or dad to Italo and Marco--though there were times all three infuriated me. But I would not trade one moment of dadness for a billion bucks. And I feel the same about Sierra and Alexa, though they're not mine biologically. They're still part of the family and I love them beyond love.
    So in case you all were thinking that us Irish are cold as potatoes, I'm here to tell you, that's not always true.