Birthday Fun

I have been so busy trying to unpack and get back into the routine of things here at home that I haven't had a chance to post about my birthday, yet. That's right. I recently had a birthday. It was a day of highs and lows, if I am being completely honest.
I got up and went to MOPS with Toad. That was fun. He even got a walker from the "free to a good home" table. That was awesome. Now, he is free to be more mobile than he was before. So, that was great. My friend and table leader burst out in "Happy Birthday to you..." as soon as I walked in the door. A bit embarrassing, but nice to feel loved and remembered, nonetheless. After MOPS, Toad took a nap and I tried to rest and recooperate from our travels. I didn't sleep, though. Instead, my mind meandered through the happenings of the previous week...seeing friends and spending quality time with family. What a complete joy to have spent such treasured time with those so dear to me (more on that in another post), yet I found myself sad and kinda down because I wasn't sharing my birthday with them. And it didn't feel special to be "celebrating" without them present. It isn't as if I haven't had birthdays apart from them, but having just been with them for a nice chunk of time, it was a bit disheartening to be without them on my "special day". And I flat out didn't feel like the day was any different than any other. So I fought those sad feelings and tried to tell myself to snap out of it.

Then, my wonderful, amazing, loving husband came home from work... and I officially felt special. Sitting on the floor, playing with Toad, I heard the door unlock. Looking up, I saw a vision of red....36 long-stemmed red roses preceded his entrance into the living room. Oh my word! Are you kidding me? One rose would have been sweet. A dozen would have been special, but 3 dozen beautiful roses for me? Me??!!?? Who am I to deserve such a romantic, sweet, thoughtful gesture. Oh, right.... I'm the birthday girl who has an amazingly loving husband who fully delighted in making my day special. Overwhelmed by the number of roses he gifted me with, I expressed that so many roses weren't necessary, but were certainly appreciated. He then said that he thought about getting me one rose for every year old I was, but figured if **(fill in my age here) roses were good, 3 dozen would be even better.

The roses would been present enough for me, but the gifts didn't end there. My hubby disappeared into the back room and brought out a box for me. I opened it and found what appeared to be a bicycle handle, outfitted with the foam grip and all. Puzzled, I looked at him as if to request an explanation. It was an asp. An expandable baton. A weapon. Yes, my hubby gave me a weapon for my birthday. The reason behind this, though, is that he wants me to have a serious form of protection for any time he is away. He wants to ensure that Toad and I are always safe. Sweet. "Interesting", but sweet.

Just before leaving for dinner, I checked my email. In my inbox I found an email from him, entitled "happy birthday". Attached to the email was a gift certificate for a nice spa package. So, after I pull my muscles beating the snot out of an intruder with my asp, I can head to the spa and relax with a nice long massage, pedicure, manicure, etc. So exciting! I love, love, love massages. I can not wait. Well, actually I can. I have this tendency to save up gift certificates "in case I want them in the future". I hate to use them because once I do, they are gone. Anyway, I am happy to report that I scheduled a massage for next week. However, I am using the gift certificate that my hubby gave me for Christmas in order to get that massage. But, I am comforted knowing that I still have another gift certificate for later use.

Off to dinner we went. My hubby took me to a teppanyaki place that I hadn't been to yet. The waiter was quite entertaining and the food was great. Afterwards, we tried the new gelato place and oh boy was it incredible! In fact, it was so yummy that we are going back next week with friends.

We got home and my hubby reminded me that I still needed to open my card from him. Yet another fun surprise! Inside the very sweet card was a Starbucks gift card and some cash to spend just on myself. Of course, I'll save the cash "just in case I need it in the future" like I did with the $100 bonus I received from work 3 1/2 years ago. But, hey, it will be there if and when I want to spend it, right?

To top it off, I was treated to a long, relaxing back massage from my hubby before the night was over. As if that wasn't enough, when I went to lay my head down for the night, I found another little monetary surprise on my pillow. It was "just for me" to spend on anything I like. And if you know me at all, you won't be surprised to hear that I put it in the bank today... "just in case".

My husband made my "special day" special. That is only one of the reasons I love him so much.