"You say it's your birthday?" It was tempting to sing the Beatles' birthday to Papa yesterday when he turned forty-something (he was a precocious child). We settled for the old stand-by, in more ways than one.

The first old stand-by: the Girl is the center of attention, even when it's Papa's day.

Even when sisters come to make brother-Papa the center of the day, the Girl manages to charm everyone.

"You, and you, and you -- watch this!"

The second old stand-by: the Girl makes most of the decisions, like who gets to wear the birthday hats and who gets a pass.

Cake is another stand-by, with Happy Birthday New Year candles.

When Papa turned forty-something (the first time, that is), Nana and I tried to put forty-something candles on the cake. It was a Herculean task to get them all lit before the first ones started going out.

"H-A-P-P-Y N-E-W Y-E-A-R" (what are they doing selling New Year's candles in April?) was much easier to light.

And blow out, I'd imagine.

The ultimate, ever-new stand-by: Papa showing Nana that, even on "his" day, she's still the center of his world. (Like the reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam, though, the Girl puts a little wobble in that orbit. Just a little one.)