birthdays, Family, Family Stories, Molly

A 21 fun salute

by Another Slice

Of course, Molly threw her own 21st birthday party.

She’d been waiting to celebrate this day for years.

“I just want to be able to go where my family and friends go,” she said, having grown up the youngest in both her family and her grade.

Saturday night in Minneapolis her friends and family went where she was to eat the kale salad she built from her friend Katharine’s CSA leftovers and the plum pie she baked after her shift at Patisserie 46 and the burgers she served with her homemade sauerkraut.

All of her siblings joined her in spirit, two of them in person and one via Facetime. We, her Wisconsin family, popped in as well, bearing fresh cheese curds and Spotted Cow.

As much as we enjoyed seeing our beaming daughter reach a milestone, we liked even more watching her circulate among her varied friends — some from college, housemates she first met this summer and those who have known her since she was a little girl.

We arrived to find Molly and her friend Kinan in a familiar spot manning the grill. Kinan and Molly met in fifth grade and spent the next nine years in the same classrooms. (Earlier this summer Kinan spent all afternoon helping Molly grill pitas for a meal I’d volunteered to serve). In fact, when she couldn’t reach Molly via cellphone to wish her a happy birthday, Grandma Peggy called Kinan’s phone and asked him to put her on the line.

Charles Darwin said a man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.

By that regard and so many others, Molly, our newly 21-year old daughter, is very worthy indeed.

Happy birthday Molly B and thanks again for letting us tag along.

A newly 21-year old Molly and some of the lovely people she calls friends.
Me and my girls before the big shindig. Katherine and I visited Molly at her bakery earlier that day, which would have been even more fun if Molly had been there and not, as we later found out, already been back at her apartment getting ready for her party. The tarts we nibbled while we waited in vain to see her were delicious and crossed signals are the hallmark of any good Kostelnik gathering.
Kinan and Molly have known each other since the fifth grade. Last time I saw him, he was grilling pitas for me. Saturday night he was back at the grill, whipping up burgers and corn.
And the lovely Katharine! In high school, Molly and Katharine talked of visiting Katharine’s grandma one day at her cottage in the English countryside. Maybe this will be the year they get there.
We had a little fun on the tightrope and no one broke a limb. This is Katherine, who flew in from L.A. for the occasion, and Vince.
Molly’s college roommate Celia visited from Madison.
Plum with goat cheese. The lady loves her pies and we do too.
Here’s the official 21st birthday toast with Molly, Katherine, Vinnie and…
…Charlie! (live from New York!)
Katherine gave Molly a beautiful print done by her friend Ethan that shows the skylines of Molly’s three homes away from home — Madison, Minneapolis and Paris.

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