15 years ago, at 9:53 p.m., the doctor held Boo up, almost Simba-style, wet and wailing, and I, having surrendered my contacts t0 the nurse at 7:00 that morning, asked, "What is it?" "It's a girl!" A girl! Throughout the pregnancy, I had imagined a boy--a little brother for Mowgli, two little boys playing together in the backyard, heads bent over the sandbox. A girl! Then suddenly: Well, of course she was a girl! And she's been my little girl--and now my big girl--ever since. Happy Birthday, Boo!