Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a lovely day. In the days leading up to it, I was quite certain my husband had forgotten. There had been a lot going on both on the homefront and at work (he starts Tuesday as Hillfield's Interim Principal). As Fancy Nancy would say, interim is a fancy word for substitute. He's in the overwhelmed stage right now, but I know he is going to be amazing, and we have hopes that this will become permanent in the summer.
Anyways, so I thought he had forgotten, which actually was mostly fine because I wasn't feeling like much of a celebration. I knew without prompting the kids would forget, so my plan was just to continue on business as usual. Not in a pity party way, this year I really was glad, and I honestly wanted nothing more than to be home, in my hoodie and sweat pants and to get on top of the house. On Monday I get to have a little procedure to take out my pesky gallbladder, so all I really wanted for my birthday was to feel on top of things.
Enter in my many unexpected gifts...
Gift #1: The day started with me waking up obscenely early, and FINALLY posting our new family pictures on my blog. Such a little thing, but it's been weighing on me for days!
Gift #2: Bryan woke up and was my knight in shining armor. Not only had he not forgotten, but he worked so hard all day to help me get on top of things so I wouldn't be so overwhelmed next week. Knowing how he has been feeling, and how nervous he is for next week, that he would put all of that aside for me was really sweet. I had not expected it at all. He even made me a birthday cake!
Gift #3: My mom's house has, like a lot of us during this crazy winter, had frozen pipes which also broke and flooded her house. Due to a secondary problem it flooded again yesterday. In spite of this, she was STILL going to come down and see me! Thankfully, I was able to talk her into coming down a different day so she could take care of the mess, but even better was my sister offered to go up and help her get things taken care of. I wasn't feeling the best, so I wouldn't have been very useful up there but it was so nice to know things were being taken care of so I didn't have to feel as guilty!
Gift #4: I was inundated with calls, texts, visits and gifts from family and friends. I honestly did not expect that many people to remember! I got writer' cramp from writing thank you responses to all the kind messages I received on facebook. I had visitors beginning at 9am,and the last one came just before 10pm. It was a full, happy day.
Gift #5: Zerin had a friend over, and it was just so nice to see him happy and playing and enjoying himself. I am so very grateful he has good friends.
Gifts #6-7: Aeden and Asher both got along most of the day. There was very little fighting. On a cold winter day when they were stuck in the house, that was more than a little amazing, which is why it qualified for 2 gifts :)
Gift #8: Bryan got me a gift card so I could go pick out some new snow boots. I took the two older girls, and let me just tell you, seeing Belen in a shoe store is something you all need to add to your bucket lists! :) She was so funny! She was like a pinball in a pinball machine going from pair to pair to pair. She would get dramatic, flip her hair and say, "These are the cutest shoes EVER!!!" By the end when we were checking out, most of the girls in the store had laughed at her at least once, and I asked her, "Girl, where did you come from?" She, without missing a beat, and without looking up simply said, "New York." I'm in for it with this one :) It was so much fun :)
Gift #9: Mandalen has learned the art of showing off. When Bryan's Mom came over to visit me, Mandalen started spinning and giggling herself silly. It was so funny and the more we would all laugh, the more she would do it, which of course made her dizzy, which there is nothing funnier than a dizzy toddler, am I right?! :)
Gift #10: Liah was invited by one of her very good friends to a late over birthday party yesterday. It was in Layton which is about 20 minutes away, but thankfully some of the other moms were carpooling and they offered to take and pick up Liah. That would have been gift enough, but when she came home, she was full of so much giggly, happy sparkle I nearly cried. I don't get to see this side of her very often, so to end my day seeing her so completely and totally happy was probably one of the best gifts I have ever received.
And that was my birthday. Somehow, being 36 has turned out to be a lot more fun than I had planned :)
1 comment:
Fist I'd like to say beautiful family pictures, I'm glad your birthday was a good day, that sounds like my kind of birthday, and I know how it is having children with those kinds of problems. Some people don't understand that those kind of problems aren't just mind over matter, and sometimes medication is nessacery. Just like any other illness. I am quite certain that at least one of mine will need medication, I feel they are to young now but If it could help them feel better then of course. You are a great mom and a beautiful woman I'm glad we are sisters love you, Cindy
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