Today would have been Sarah’s birthday. In keeping with tradition, we kicked off the Birthday Week Extravaganza on Saturday.

Sarah’s perfect day was breakfast at Zaftig’s, then the New England Aquarium, and lunch at Pizzeria Regina. I didn’t feel like waking Nate up early, though, so we skipped Zaftig’s.

We arrived at the Aquarium just as they were opening, and met up with Sarah’s good friend Jess and her family. Nate enjoyed the penguins, but his favorite was the puffer fish. My dad liked the jellies. For my part, I always love to see Myrtle the turtle having her breakfast.

Then we walked over to Christopher Columbus Park. It was freakishly warm for January, in the high 60s, so Nate ran around and around on the playground and climbed on the vaguely boat-shaped jungle gym. This used to be my absolute favorite playground when I was a child, but the wooden Ewok Village I remember has long since been eaten by termites and replaced with a generic metal-and-rubber climbing structure. Safe, but homogeneous; whatever it was that made it special when I was little is long gone.

Finally, we wandered through and around the North End until we found Pizzeria Regina. Sarah used to be my navigator; she once ran a company that led ghost tours through the North End, so she knew it cold. We had to rely on MapQuest. I am literally lost without her.

Happy birthday, Sarah. I love you.