April 26 is a very special day.

I always felt a little sorry for Jill having to share a birthday with Josh. When Josh was put in the same room as presents, there wasn't any chance of her not being utterly upstaged.

One of the best moments in Joshie birthday party history occurred at one of these present-opening events. I'm sure we'd all picked out great presents: the latest video games for Nintendo 64, whatever new releases Disney had put out, and a huge stack of Power Ranger action figures. But nothing could compare to the 25 $1 bills my Grandma Jepperson put into a card.

It was nothing short of genius. Josh hated opening cards. He'd only do it when mom asked, and even then with an annoyed grunting sigh. If the card held nothing but words, he wasn't shy about showing disapproval by tossing the card aside and then going for the biggest present on the pile.

Then he opened Grandma Jepperson's card and saw a giant pile of green. "MONEY! MONEYMONEYMONEYMONEYMONEY!" he yelled as he fanned the bills out in his hands and bounced up and down while maintaining his indian-style stance in the middle of the family room floor. "MY MONEY! MINE! MINE!" he exclaimed, kissing the bills several times and throwing them in the air.

After that, Jill's opening of a stack of Anita Stansfield novels and some Old Navy shirts was somewhat anticlimactic. She was always a good sport, though. I imagine that even with the upstaging, sharing a birthday with Josh still must have been a lot of fun.

I can't believe Josh would have been 22 today. But even at 22, I think he'd still be just as excited about a stack of $1 bills, although perhaps not so willing to settle for only 25 of them. One thing's for sure. I wouldn't have spent the day at home in jeans and a T-shirt working in the yard and then reading Jasper Fforde with a pot of tea. Everything would have been put on hold in honor of the Joshie birthday extravaganza. I think I would have gotten him a DVD of Enchanted to see him roll his eyes, and then pulled out the real present. I can't help thinking he would be VERY into Transformers.

Happy birthday, Josh!

And Jill, even now without the present-opening theatrics to compete with, your special day still manages to be overshadowed by memories of Josh. You continue to be a good sport. Thanks for being born, having the patience and foresight to stick with Jer when he still had A LOT of growing up to do, and bringing Kenzie, Madi, and Molly into our lives.

I know that yet another cloud hung over you today as you grieve for your friend Rich's death, but I hope you know the difference you've made in all of our lives, and I hope that in spite of what you're going through, you managed to still have a good birthday, even if not the happiest of birthdays. You deserve it!

Happy birthday, Jill!