Maybe Watson Payne had a birthday about four months ago (as seen here) and that is when she learned the most about birthdays so far. It was the first time she had a cupcake all to herself, to eat from beginning to end.
She is in Portland this weekend with her parents, staying with good friends who also have a baby. There they will celebrate her mother's birthday, which is today. I remember with absolute fidelity the night Mabel Watson Payne was born. I also remember (with near-equal fidelity) the night her mother (my daughter) was born. Few people can say they remember both of those nights (from 2010 and from 1976) but I am one of them.
Through the happiness her daughter is giving to her, my daughter can now (perhaps for the first time) measure the scale of the happiness she has given to me.