— PROLOGUE —
by Marilyn Otter
It is 6 p.m. on August 25 in Escondido, California, just north of San Diego. Although my birthday was yesterday, nothing eventful has occurred. That’s because half of my family—my husband, Johan, and my eldest daughter, Jenna—is away on a two-week hiking trip though Wyoming and Montana. We’ll do the birthday celebrating when they return, which makes more sense since Johan’s birthday is on September 8. We’ll just have one big shindig then. Besides, I am so