May 4, 2022

When Lily's eyes popped open, she turned to her side to look at the clock. Now that she went to preschool, Daddy and Mommy put the clock in her room so she would know when she should get out of bed. She looked at the numbers and saw 5:55, and she knew it was too early to get up. But then she remembered what today was and she sat up anyway. Today was her birthday, and she was five years old! It was her special day, Mommy wasn't going to work and she didn't have to go to school!

It was Castle family tradition – Daddy taught her what that word meant, and she liked using it – that the birthday person got to pick all the meals on their birthday and they got to do special things if they wanted to. She was going to have blueberry pancakes for breakfast, Daddy's homemade pizza for lunch and Grandma Jo's special macaroni and cheese for dinner! And she and Daddy had a special tradition on her birthday. See, Mommy and Daddy were going to watch "Star Wars – A New Hope" because it was Star Wars Day, but Lily wanted to be born, so they didn't get to watch. But Daddy and she watched a different Star Wars movie together every year on her birthday. (Last year, Mommy told her why it was Star Wars Day on her birthday – because May the Fourth sounded like "May the Force" and Lily and Daddy said that to each other all day). Lily decided she would get out of bed soon, but when she turned over, she fell back asleep.

And she was still asleep when her mother walked into her room. Kate had a birthday tradition too – she woke up her babies on their special day with "Happy Birthday". It was something her mom had done with her, and now she did it. Kate sat down on the bed and pushed Lily's hair out of her eyes and started to sing. She smiled when Lily's eyes popped open and she sat up. As Kate finished singing, Lily's arms went around her neck and she hugged her mother tightly. "Happy Birthday to my big girl!" Kate said as Lily giggled. "Time to get ready for your big day!" Lily ran into the bathroom to take care of business, and Kate put out her clothes for the day – including her favorite Star Wars tee shirt.

When they went downstairs, they saw Jake and Reece sitting in their chairs waving bits of blueberry pancakes around. They saw their sister and together they said, "Happy bifday, Wiwy!" Rick turned around and grinned at them too. Lily ran to his side and giggled as he smacked six kisses – one for good luck of course – and then he gave six hugs too. After the birthday hugs and kisses, Lily sat down to eat her breakfast.

She had a fun day – Daddy made the pizzas look like The Death Star and they ate them while they watched "Star Wars – The Force Awakens"– and she could hardly wait for the rest of the party. Grandpa, Gram, Lexie and her husband Mike were coming to dinner and then she'd get her presents! Mommy said she didn't have to change her shirt since she had been careful and didn't spill anything on it all day. (Reece and Jake had to change, but they were still little!) Mommy did brush her hair and as soon as the doorbell rang, she ran to the door. Daddy got there first and opened it up so that Grandpa and Gram could come inside. Grandpa gave her six kisses like Daddy, but Gram gave her hundreds! She was so busy telling them about her day, she didn't realize Lexie and Mike didn't come in right away. But then she heard a lot of noise, and it sounded like a puppy! She turned and looked, and Lexie was carrying the prettiest puppy she had ever seen!

"Meet your birthday present, sweetheart!" Mommy said with a big smile. "Daddy and I thought you were big enough to help us with a puppy. What do you think?" Lily ran over to the brown and white dog, and threw her arms around the puppy's neck. The puppy obviously loved her right away, because he licked her chin.

"Oh yes, Mommy! I am big enough! I have wanted a puppy forever!" The adults all laughed, and after Lily and the puppy ran around for a little while, they all sat down to dinner.

"So Lily, what are you going to name him?" asked her grandfather. He was enjoying his dinner – he'd always loved his wife's version of mac and cheese, and he was enjoying the way his granddaughter kept sneaking – or thought she was sneaking – food to the dog.

"Well, today is Star Wars Day, so I think I will name him after a character," she said.

"I think Han Solo would be perfect," Rick mentioned. "You know he's my favorite character. I look so much like Harrison Ford!" Kate laughed but she had to agree.

"No, I like Han Solo, but he's not my favorite character. I love Princess Leia best, but I can't give that name to a boy dog. So I will call him Luke! After all, he is a Jedi, and he's Princess Leia's twin brother."

They all agreed that was a good name for a dog. And after finishing dinner, and having cake, they managed to get her and the puppy settled for the night. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought, "This is the best birthday ever!"

And it was, until the next one, and the one after that, and on….

A/N: Yes, it is me! Working full time retail has kicked my butt, and my muse seemed to go away for a while. I've been staying inside as much as possible since the middle of March and I wanted to write something. I had a few ideas, and this is what the muse let me write. I'm sure it's a bit rusty, but at least it made it out of my brain. But I need fluffy – I think we all do – so I hope this makes someone smile.