The 25th of May

Always a magical day in my book. I turned 34 yesterday - thirty FOUR. The nice thing about being married to Troy is that I never feel old - because he turned 34 three and a half years ago. Okay, okay, that's not the only reason I like being married to Troy. Here's what I love about my husband. Every year for my birthday, he surprises me. I never ask for a gift because it's too fun to see what he'll pick out. I always love seeing what someone gets you for a gift because it says something about how that person sees you. Troy is excellent at remembering something I said weeks or even months ago, or thinking about what I might really like. He's great at this. I wish I were as talented at choosing gifts for him. This year he gave me some nice hair care products. This may not sound very special to you, but he listened to a conversation I had with my sister in law, and then researched out the very best equipment. I'll just say that the people at the beauty-supply shop were very impressed that a guy was picking out nice stuff for his wife without even having been asked. Way to go, Troy.

The day was a lovely one. My friend Becky watched my kids for a couple of hours while I some time to myself. I filled that time by buying underwear and vacuuming out the car. It's amazing how your self-esteem can rise with clean underwear and having a car no longer littered with crusty french fries, wrappers, crumbs, dirt...etc. etc.etc. So, yes, I purchased some self-esteem for myself.

Then my friend Terri Lyn decided that our neighborhood friends needed to gather at the park for lunch. My birthday was just a good excuse to do it. I'm so grateful for the wonderful people in the 'hood. We went to Laird park where the shade was glorious and the only trouble was that the slides were too hot. I appreciated so much the effort TL went to - normally I feel a little silly having a birthday party for myself, but this year it felt good. My eyes have been opened a little to the gratitude I feel at being surrounded by beautiful souls.

After a little quiet time at home my parents took the kids while Troy and I got some Italian food. How does this sound: Shrimp and asparagus risotto. Yum. Plus, in the afternoon the kids and I put together a lemon cake to share with my parents. I really just made it because I thought the kids would feel bad if we didn't sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out candles and stuff. Turns out, they didn't care very much. They didn't even eat a bite of the cake. That's okay. I think they had a good time making it.