The year was 1986. It was a Tuesday, at night. 7:58 PM. I couldn't wait until 8 o'clock to enter the world. I'm sure I came out screaming like most babies. I'm sure my eyes were closed, and that the October chill had me wanting a blanket.

The year was 1990, and I remember asking my dad for days when I was going to be 4 years old. My eyes were wide and hazel, my hair blonde and short.

The year was 1994 and I got to wear a sundress in October. Never ever in New York can you wear a sundress in October, so that was one day I will remember forever. Running into the grocery store with my dad, my blonde hair longer, wearing a sundress in October.

The year is 2011, my hair blonde, again. Longer than it ever has been, this October I will be in Florida, in a sundress, on my birthday.