THE BIG 4-0

Celebrating Our Only Daughter

We have four adult children—three boys: Joshua, Jeremy, and Brandon—and our daughter, Brianna. We adopted Brianna from Korea when she was just nine months old, and this week, she turns 40! That’s right; my “baby” is hitting the big four-oh.

I vividly remember when I turned 40. I remember thinking there was a real possibility my life was half over; it felt like the definitive halfway point. To be honest, I struggled with it for a while. Turning 20, 30, or even 50 and 60 didn’t phase me, but for some reason, 40 hit differently. Eventually, I got over it and moved on, but that memory makes this milestone feel even more significant.

A Weekend in the Cities

Brianna wanted to celebrate with the whole family, so this past weekend, all 13 of us headed to “the cities” to celebrate. We had a wonderful dinner at Ike’s in Minnetonka on Saturday evening. As Brianna sat across from me, I kept thinking: How can she be 40? I am so incredibly proud of the woman she has become. I almost said “young woman,” but I suppose at 40, she might have graduated from that title! On the drive home, Roxie and I reminisced about the day we adopted her and why we chose that path. It certainly doesn’t feel like four decades have passed.

Life Today

Today, Brianna is married to a wonderful man, Seth; they are truly meant for each other. She loves her career at the Target corporate headquarters in downtown Minneapolis. Her job keeps her traveling often, and she and Seth love to travel for fun, too. In fact, they’re heading on a safari in Tanzania this summer! They also have a dog named Kona, whom we all adore. I’m just so dang proud of her.

Dinosaurs and “Voice Text” Disasters

After dinner, we stayed at the Hampton Inn. Seth surprised us all with a dinosaur-themed birthday cake! I didn’t even know Brianna liked dinosaurs, but Seth, Zane, and Adelyn had a great time lighting all 40 candles. Brianna did an impressive job blowing them all out in one go.

Family is everything to Brianna, and she has a very special bond with her nieces and nephews. After the cake, the kids headed to the pool while the rest of us spent the night playing games and catching up.

We also had the pleasure of meeting our grandson Zane’s girlfriend, Amelia, for the first time. She’s a sophomore at Blaine High School. She seemed a little nervous—rightly so, meeting 13 of us at once!—but she fit right in.

A funny thing happened after they left the hotel. Zane was driving her home (only about 20 minutes away), and I sent him a text:

”Hey, it was nice to meet Amelia tonight. Seems like a real nice girl and I think she’s a keeper, so don’t screw it up, Zane!

Well, Zane’s phone was connected to his car’s Bluetooth, and the system read the text aloud for the whole car to hear! Amelia heard every word. At breakfast the next morning, Zane told me what happened, and luckily, Amelia laughed and thought it was cute. I’m sure glad I didn’t say anything negative—not that I would have anyway!