Wherein I Skip Rocks, Turn 40 and Buy Diet Coke With Oral Sex (Again) - PART 1

Bear with me.  I'm old now and my memory isn't what it used to me.  I'm also standing in a corner of my kitchen so I can use generator power and my ankles are giving out.  It happens when you get old.

So Saturday was my birthday.  I'll get to that in a moment but let me start by saying that all those people who say that they don't "get" twitter should have seen the amazing birthday wishes that I received from Friday into Saturday from all over the world.  Sure, some of them were just 2 second tweets that said, "Happy Birthday" and I may not have noticed if they hadn't been sent - but I SURE DID NOTICE that they had been sent and it meant the world to me.  So Thank You.

My virtual #Wineparty birthday party was amazingly fun even if I did end up being thrown in Twitter Jail and when I told my husband he said, "Don't get your hopes up."

On Saturday morning my husband got up with the kids and let me sleep in.  It was FABULOUS.  Even more fabulous was the fact that the kids waited to bring me breakfast in bed until they heard me walking around upstairs.  And then, when they DID bring me breakfast in bed? They put a Peanut Butter Granola bar and a Diet Coke on a tray because that's what I eat for breakfast every day.

Hurricane Irene was on her way up the coast but we didn't expect her to hit until after midnight so we were going to make a beach day out of it.  We had to secure the homestead first because we knew we wouldn't want to do it later.  We put the grill into the garage.  We took down the swings.  We took down the hummingbird feeder.  And then I noticed that the ceramic compost jar that we keep in the kitchen was on the deck.  I brought it inside.  It was empty but a little bit dirty.  I left it in the sink and figured I'd get it later.

We went to the beach.  It was gray but only intermittently rainy.  I went on the beach with the kids. (Note: "The kids" means my 4 + my brother's oldest 3 + my sister's 3 = 10)  My sister came out and said that one of our neighbors had told her that there was a sand shark carcass down the beach.  The kids were SO excited to go see it.  We walked down the beach.  It's about a quarter of a mile.  We couldn't find the shark.  We figured the tide must have carried it off.  We started to walk back but decided to have a rock skipping contest.  Mostly we tried to find flat rocks while keeping the kids from whipping the rocks at each other's heads.

We turned to walk back.  My sister challenged me to a rock skipping contest.  The waves were so choppy it was hard to skip anything more than once. 

We walked back toward the house.  I figured that since it was raining I should probably bring some of the chairs that we keep under the house inside since we would have to bring them up later to prepare for the hurricane.

I made 3 trips up and down the stairs.  The kids kept yelling, "Here she is! Here she is!"  I figured that when I finally went inside they would sing to me and have cake.  But no one called me in so I made one more trip with the chairs.  Finally I was standing there on the porch and the kids were yelling, "Shhh! Shhh! Shhh! and I figured it was time to go into the living room.  When I rounded the corner the kids yelled, "SURPRISE!"

To tell you the truth it wasn't a surprise - I figured they would get me a cake.  But then as my eyes adjusted to coming in from outside I realized that there were  a lot more people in the room than my family (even though my family is 18 people) and as my eyes adjusted further I saw some of my most favorite people in the world - most of whom had travelled 90+ minutes to come to my party with the threat of a hurricane escorting them home.

It Was AWESOME.

It was awesome because there were few enough people there that I really got to talk to everyone without feeling like I was rushing through the conversations.  And because there were enough people there that I realized that I had made some incredible relationships in my 40 years.

And it was amazing because those people rock and it was awesome to spend the afternoon with them.  Even if it was pouring at the beach and a hurricane was bearing down on us.

And it was amazing because my anti-social, anti-structure, anti-plan husband had gone out of his comfort zone to round up my friends and manage the logistics so completely that I was 100% surprised.  He congratulated the kids on keeping the secret. "To tell you the truth," my second son admitted, "I completely forgot about it until today!"

My friend Serena* brought her two children.  They were a bit reserved at first but when we mentioned that "The Kids" loved Harry Potter they went into the other room and started hurling killing curses at each other.  It was great.

My cake was a blazing inferno with 24 candles because that's all that they could find at the house.  Thank goodness because those 24 candles emitted so much heat I could hardly get close enough to blow them out.  The only thing that made me bold enough to lean in toward them was the knowledge that the house was made of 200 year old wood.

My friend A- (who has been mentioned in this blog before) made the cake.  It was a raspberry concoction that made me swoon.  I MAY have had two pieces. And a half.

The only downside to the day was that A- had to go home (instead of staying over with me) because of the impending hurricane.  I tried everything I could to get her to stay - even enlisting the kids with the batting of the eyelashes and the begging but she was steadfast.  She PROMISED to come again soon.  I will run before she comes in case she bakes something else.

After my guests left we hurricane-proofed the house - including bringing the kayaks and the grill into the livingroom.  We took down the outdoor shower, we took down all the screens.  We brought all the chairs and toys inside.

And we brought all of the perishable groceries home in case the house lost power.

And then we came home...

End of Part 1.

It's 11:21pm and my husband wants to turn off the generator and go to bed. More tomorrow.   

Comments

[Sidney]

I'm sorry I missed your birthday, Kit, what with my head up my ass and all. But after having met you, it's obvious why so many loved ones came to celebrate your birthday.

I hope you fared well during Irene, and I look forward to Part I.

[Sidney]

Argh! Part II. I mentioned having my head up my ass, didn't I?

[Kimberly]

How fantastic! Well, at least the part before the generator comes into play . . . ;)

[Mrs. MidAtlantic]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Even Irene wanted to come to your party and have some cake!

[dharza]

That is awesome that your husband would do that for you...that is love!!

[Mariekb.wordpress.com]

I was so happy to be a part of your Twitter birthday wineparty. I had so much fun. Lots of people wanting your attention. I missed the #twitterjail though. sounds like more fun!

mimicat12

[Domesticated Gal]

You may have just induced me to rejoin twitter. If only to allow the universe to remind the Big Man when its my birthday. Or remind me when he forgets...

[A]

Believe you me - those are some deviously well-trained little imps - I came EXTREMELY close to giving in to all of the batting eyes and snuggly "pretty please" hugs! How is it that you've always managed to have such a nuclear arsenal of "convince A to do _____" weapons at your disposal? It's totally unfair. See you soon - with or without baked goods!

[John]

Sounds a like a perfect birthday, even with the hurricane -- because, while hurricanes suck, being with family & loved ones is the best way to ride one out.

I'd have been powerless against the eyelash-batting, methinks.

[Valentina@baby quilts]

I almost slapped myself on the head for forgetting your birthday but then remembered that I did congratulate you, only a day in advance - just for this reason, that I might forget :D

Now let me read Part 2!

[Marta]

Sounds like an amazing 40th even with the hurricane and all. Glad you had a great birthday!