Happy Birthday, Isabelle Hicks

I turned twenty on Saturday. As one friend helpfully informed me, this makes me close to 40 than to birth. The celebration has extended into a several day affair, with different celebrations and congratulations. A birthday week, one might call it. This pales in comparison with one person, however: Isabelle Hicks.

On the drive home every night, Zoelle and I pass the local high school. There's an electric sign near it that announces important things in the school. The graduation date, minor news, and, of course, birthdays. It's sort of charming that an inanimate object can greet you with a "Happy birthday!" as you drive by. But Isabelle has taken it to the next level.

She has the fortune of having been born on the last day of school. This is the point at which the secretaries become lazy or leave for the summer. Thus, the billboard remains un-updated for three months. Trumping my measly week by a large margin, Isabelle Hicks has a three-month-long birthday celebration. Cheers to her, and may she have a sweet sixteen until she's seveteen.