2001

A while ago Julia was in the baby's room visiting with me while I fed him or something. To busy herself she began straightening his growing collection of stuffed animals and asking me who had given him each one. When she came to a handsome pair of Snoopy's, I cautioned her to treat them with extra care since they were both "very old". I explained that one of them was a gift for my 5th birthday, how I had dearly loved Snoopy as a youngster, how that love had been one of the reasons I had chosen to do the baby's nursery in Snoopy, and that he was one of the only toys that I still had from childhood. I told her I had received the other one for my 10th birthday which was "a long, long time ago". I could see her taking it all in, feeling privileged to be in the know, and then she asked, "Was that in like 2001 or 2002?"