It’s certainly been a heck of a birthday and even as tempest-tossed as it felt at various points, I’m thoroughly happy to be able to finally relax and let the day end far more peacefully than it had started.
Mind you, the first part of the day was truly lovely…it was quite the treat to have all three of the kids stay over last night and be here in the morning to give me the one gift that really hits me in the old heart department: best wishes and hugs from each of them.
Nicholas had to be out the door before the rest of us in order to get to his job at Leith Toyota on time and it was clear he was nervous about why I asked him to hang about until I got downstairs before he took off.
When I got the hug and then wished him a good day, I think he was a little exasperated that he’d gotten all wound up even though I had assured him that nothing was wrong, it wasn’t for ill intent that I wanted him to stick around slightly longer than usual.
But I’ll take the mickey with him any day!
The original plan was getting Katie and Alex off to school at Enloe and then spending the morning sifting lacrosse pictures for the video and writing the birthday memory post which usually takes a while to get the way I want it.
And to be fair, those things actually did happen.
What I wasn’t planning on was finding a totally flat left rear tyre on the Traverse and having to scramble to reinflate the tyre with the compressor and hope like hell it’d hold together long enough to get the kids to school and my panoramic heiney up the hill to Firestone to mend the tyre.
I did get some pictures sifted and the tyre is nicely mended so it’s back to the house for a bit and that’s when the two hours of sleep the night before decides it wants to catch up with me. Sort of.
Fortunately, the rest of the day went relatively smoothly…the tyre stayed inflated and I got Katie and Alex from school.
Then my brother Ben showed up and hung out for a bit and got to meet Mistletoe for the first time. She was all barky and growly at first but all it took was some time and showing him her kryptonite and she was all in for a belly rub from him before he left for Fayetteville. I’m sure their cat will just love “Eau d’Mistletoe” all over him… 🙂
Ben’s graduating from NC Central University tomorrow morning at 0800 with a Masters in Library Science so now I guess we have to bow to his Literary Majesty from now on.
Seriously, he’s been working his ass off to get that degree along with doing his teaching and school librarian gigs and a second job at Second and Charles bookstore. He should be proud of that degree and graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA.
God knows, I’m proud of my kid brother. Always have been, always will be. 🙂
A quick trip to Clayton to drop off Katie and Alex and then back to the house to watch the Canes get beaten in Boston by the Bruins Goons with some help from the officiating which was awful and inconsistent at best.
But that’s OK…I finished the birthday memory, I’ve caught up on the Chick Fil-Audits, and now it’s time to relax for a few minutes before heading up to bed so I can be somewhat coherent when it’s time to watch Ben’s graduation ceremony on the live stream.
Once again, my heart is overflowing with joy and appreciation at all of the greetings on this birthday. I’ll respond personally to all of them in the coming days when I’m in a position to make them more meaningful. And coherent. Coherent helps. Coherent works.
Until then, know that I treasure each and every one of you even across the great distances and time between getting together. You guys are part of what makes life truly worth living and enjoying! 🙂