Happy birthday and possible farewell, Molly!

On our way into the learning center this morning, Molly's older brother, Aiden, stopped my mom and me to let us know that it is Molly's birthday. Duh, like I don't check the birthday board every month to see who will be coming up on the big day next.

Ordinarily, those Beauty and the Beast cupcakes with the hot pink icing would almost certainly signal that Molly was getting ready to transition to the toddler room. There is nothing ordinary about this first birthday celebration, though.

I can't help feeling like this whole party is a sham.

Rumors are swirling that Molly and her brothers are leaving the learning center. My mom has tried to maintain her status as a lady by playing dumb about the subject. She casually asked Miss Erica if Molly and Ben (who recently celebrated the big 1) would be moving rooms soon. Miss Erica confirmed Ben's pending departure (bummer) and said that Molly was leaving the center but wouldn't provide further details.

Molly's mom, Amanda, has been present for drop off all this week but her very nervous and freckly Irish grandmother has been in from Florida with Amanda's minivan every day at drop off. Totally bizarre.

No mention of Molly's final day at the learning center has been made to us, her classmates. So I guess we're all just supposed to sit around at lunch time today, sing happy birthday, watch big kids eat cupcakes and pretend like nothing weird is happening. This will be a true test of social graces for me, as playing it cool isn't exactly my nature.