Punky Monkey Chronicles

                     Happy Birthday, Yudith!
My daughter, Yudith, is now a 14 year old! She has decided that she should be allowed to drink coffee. After all, all of her friends are doing it… duh, mom!!

Well, yesterday, on the morning of her birthday, she decided to “gift” herself a shot of Cuban Coffee. OMGravy!! To go from no coffee to a shot of CC! Don’t you know that my poor daughter was a hyper little monkey all day!

To top it off, we had to go drop my brother, Almando, to the train station. Forty Five minutes away. Mommy took the scenic route, which took us an hour and fifteen minutes. Her random bursts of conversation where more like little snippets. And LOUD! LOL!! Yudith was on overdrive! The TSA at the station was watching her, and brought the dogs over to sniff at her… “No, no, no officer! She’s not on drugs, just caffeine!!!”

We decided to go to IKEA after we left Almando at the station. Why did my daughter HAVE to see EVERY display? Why did she HAVE to sit in every chair? Why did she HAVE to cart Becky around on her back through the warehouse? YUP!! You got it!! Because at 3 o’clock, she was still on a CC High!!

We went to our oldest daughter, Fatima’s house. It was supposed to be a quick visit. Yes, yes, yes! She was running around like the smallest of children. Making jokes. Laughing at the smallest, most inconsequential of occurrences. Loud, random information spouting from nowhere.

Dinner time, Daddy comes home with his customary cake and flowers for the birthday girl (he’ll deny it, but he’s a hopeless romantic)! Yudith, Aly, Becky, one stow away granddaughter, Serena, and the dog, Buddy all go running to see who’s going to get the first kiss from Papi! Oooof course, Yudith, having some 93 octane still coursing her veins, is the first to make it to him! Practically vaulted over all the little humanoids, as she likes to call the younger children. We all have dinner, they all go play. Fatima, her hubby, Julio, and the two boys (Isaiah and Alex) come to collect Serena. We sing happy birthday, and cut the cake. Six kids sitting at the table eating cake. And in case you’re wondering, yes, Yudith was the loudest!


I hand Yudith a sliver of cake and she gets this hurt look on her face. Like she can’t understand WHY she gets a small piece of cake. Like she thinks me cruel to give her a small piece of her own birthday cake!!! Gee, let me think…could it be because it is 9 pm and you are STILL as hyper as you were at 7 am? Could it be because I can practically SEE the rapid pulse of you heart in your throat and I’m a little scared you’re going to have a heart attack?! LOL!

Moral of my story… Yudith is NEVER allowed to have coffee while living with us. She may have as much as she wants, the day AFTER she moves out of our house! I’ll brew her a pot myself!