Monday, July 5th is very special. It is my husband's 58th birthday! He was actually born over 2 weeks early, because on July 4th, 1952, his mother went rafting on the "hooch" and ate almost a whole watermelon! There might be medical value to this for you docs out there. None-the-less, he backed his way into this world and has celebrated life for 58 years.
I love this man more than he will ever, ever know. You know the old saying that love grows? It does. It grew with every moment we have ever shared together, good ones and the bad ones, too.
He is stubborn, set in his ways, not much for social situations, but definitely a homebody. He is a talented guitarist, a wood craftsman and maniacal about our yard. Don't let him paint, though, because a one day job will take him 3 weeks. Don't misunderstand, he's very good at painting. Everything must be perfect, taped, sanded, covered, meticulously finished down to the last detail. I swear, he has never let a drop of paint fall from a brush that was in his hands! My kitchen cupboards did not have doors for over a year. In desperation, my daughter and I finally did it ourselves when he wasn't home. We're stubborn too!
Getting older is something we all think about. After all, considering the alternative, I think getting older is much preferred and heading in a rather positive direction. We begin to notice a few more aches and pains and that maybe they don't go away as quick or completely as they used to. Things sag, we get brown splotches, hair grays and thins and our memory is not always at its best. But, getting older also has its perks!
Kroger, for example gives senior citizen discounts on Wednesday, which for some reason, they tend to give me without asking any more. Oh well, in the times that we are in now, 5% is 5% and every little bit helps. Of course, Social Security has started to send us our statements regularly so we can see just where we are! That's a laugh! AARP has been bombarding us for years to buy their supplemental insurance, burial insurance, and every other kind of insurance that someone could possibly need. I just ignore those monthly mailers and toss them into the garbage can. I'm not ready to admit yet, that I am joining the ranks of being old, with exception of course, to the discounts that some retailers offer us to placate us and make us feel special.
One such occasion occurred on my husband's 55th birthday. He used to spend time with his mother on Wednesday nights during the summer. They would go get a bite to eat, watch Lost or the Bachelor, then he would head home.. However, on the occasion of his 55th birthday, it just so happened that Kohls was having a BIG sale, so off they went to buy whatever item had to be purchased. In his case, it was a massive stack of neatly bundled white wash clothes (which he uses to clean the spray starch out of HIS iron, I am probably the only person in the whole world that has neatly pressed damp white wash clothes lying in the laundry). At the check out, his mother looked at him and reminded him that officially, he was now a senior citizen at Kohls. Don't forget your discount! His first official extra 5% on his first official senior citizen birthday! I won't ever let him live it down as I am ornery like that! It was so cute, he even called me while he was checking out to tell me about his newly acquired special discount.
I will let him sleep late in the morning. Later in the day, we will be honoring him on his 58th birthday. A nice cookout with the kids and then we will celebrate with a couple of memorable gifts that will only mean something to him. Any guesses? I would tell you, but he may read this before the big reveal. Don't want to spoil the surprise!
So, if you get the chance, tell him Happy Birthday and many, many more! I'd like to keep him around for a long, long time.
Happy Birthday, Spray Starch Man. I Love You!
Kaye
