Here you'll find current musings, as well as the archives from two blogs of yesteryear: YoungMarriedMom and What I Learned While Writing a Novel. Please comment and share. We love well when we are in conversation with one another.
This weekend, we celebrated my birthday (which, if you were wondering, is today). John planned a fabulous weekend that included movie-watching, game-playing, and dessert-eating, among other things. We went out to dinner one night, and thanks to a manicure-pedicure, my nails are now a delightful shade of “Suzi Sells Sushi by the Seashore” (translation: pink).
Most of the weekend was a surprise to me, which was a lot of fun. I like to plan things, but it was fantastic to just sit back and go where someone else told me to for a while. Part of all that planning John did was inviting his sister Kathleen to come stay with us for the weekend so I would have a friend at the nail place, and so that John and I could go indulge in butter- and cheese-laden foods we wouldn’t usually eat at home.
When Kathleen arrived home with John Friday evening, she was as much of a surprise to Jacob as she was to me. They played together all weekend, and he absolutely loved it. She built block towers for him to knock down, set up the train tracks for him to play with, bounced him on the air mattress she slept on, and read him books. By the end of the weekend, I think he probably thought it was his birthday, not mine. We even went shopping at one point for his birthday present! (Note: wooden train sets, when bought new, are very expensive! Enter: Ebay.)
This isn’t the first time a celebration for someone else has had positive ramifications for Jacob. When we asked my mom what she wanted to do for her birthday last year, she said, “Take Jacob to the aquarium.”
For Father’s Day, we went to Coney Island to play on the beach.
For John’s birthday, John and I went to Rhode Island. Jacob stayed with both sets of grandparents and had so much fun, he didn’t notice we’d left.
Ironically, the celebration we have planned for Jacob’s birthday next month might be the most low-key event on our calendar this year. Then again, it doesn’t take much to make the little guy happy. And he’s probably celebrated enough for the next three years anyway.
Hurray for birthday surprises! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! 🙂
Happy Birthday!!!!!!