Happy Birthday to me!

Only one day after my birthday, I found myself filling out a form where I had to check my age box.  I might have found my new category perhaps a little shocking: ❐ 40-44.  But I moved on to the next check box with just a smile that I'm now into the "middle-aged" category.  It helped, I think, that two weeks ago, I'd decided to embrace my "big day."  Normally, I don't make a big deal of birthdays and like them to pass with out too much direction focused on me.  I'm reminded that my high school nicknames had basis:  "Smiley" or "Shy Sally."  I much preferred the former . . . Anyway, fearing I'd be a wreck, I decided to tell friends about my soon to be age, not to hide it from the younger moms that are now my friends here in Winnipeg.  I also decided to spoil myself a little.  I had my old piano tuned, I bought myself a nice magazine and music CD, I spent an afternoon at Value Village puttering, I got my hair cut and booked myself to see a naturopathic doctor.  I didn't know that S had decided to spoil me, too.

A week and a half before my birthday, he started to give me little gifts - the big one being two nights away at a Victorian B&B in Kenora - a lakeside town just over the Ontario border roughly 2 hours away.  I drove in snow on Friday afternoon but enjoyed the change in terrain from prairie flat land to craggy rock, forested land pocked with lakes. I didn't return until Sunday after dinner.   It was wonderful!  Sunny and 3 C felt really great and sea gulls on the water sounded like home.

I had the big attic with my own mini kitchen and bathroom, so felt tucked up nicely and was able to do lots of reading.   The goal was mainly to sleep so I felt a little pressure when that didn't happen very well either night.  Guests loudly closing bathroom doors too often.  But once I removed the pressure, I enjoyed reading through the night and lounging through the morning.  The hosts were so kind to me and ended up charging me for only one night!  They'd been touched by S's email interactions with them and had wanted me to have a special time away.  How nice was that!  

The room looked much nicer before I dumped my stuff all over the place . . . It was so lovely to have space to myself.  Was great to return to the warm hugs of my family but I could easily have enjoyed four more nights!

As an aside, I awoke to three new inches of snow the next morning and in protest, refused to shovel snow on April 15th to take Ai to school!  

Throughout the week, temperatures were more mellow so it started to melt and the kids finally started to play each afternoon in the snow - ironically in what had been waiting for them for five months but with weather too cool to enjoy it!  It was rather sobering today to find it snowing once again, however.

Back to the birthday, it was a fun week of getting remembered with letters in the mail, a few surprise parcel gifts, kind emails, nice extended phone calls from BC and even a flower delivery from my in-laws.  I was blown away by the thoughtfulness of my family and dear friends.  Thank you!

S had had a crazy mid-week: going to Saskatoon on the Greyhound through Wednesday night, attending meetings there all day Thursday and then climbing back on a Greyhound to return home Friday at 8:00 a.m.  It's exhausting just writing that.  Needless to say, he was tired and I hadn't expected much more as he'd already done so much for me!  But he and the kids snuck out and bought special desserts.  

They also bought a cat food bowl and declared/shouted: "Happy Birthday!  We're getting you a cat!"  I totally wasn't expecting the latter nor was totally sure I wanted this.  I'm a big cat fan and haven't had one since my childhood *love* died at age 16 ( 84 in cat years, apparently!).  The alley cats have made my front and back porch - as well as my bike trailer! - reek of cat urine this winter.  I can hardly stand it!  And the house still feels chronically messy, a feeling to which so many of you with kids can relate, I'm sure.  The added mess and work from a cat may be challenging, but . . .  there is no turning back on this gift for the kids' sakes.  I just hope we don't torture one too much.  My younger two have a way of egging each other to do not so great things sometimes (today it was to cut Iz's hair.  She now has a shag look around her face!). 

Wanting to give S a chance to sleep, I took the kids out Friday afternoon.  After the library and errands, they didn't want to be outside - it was sunny but super windy.  So we checked out the Winnipeg Humane Society, a beautiful animal shelter. 

The cats even have "Cat Condos:" individual glass-doored mini-rooms.  To visit one we had to fill out a form, don yellow plastic aprons, wash down with sanitizer and have the volunteer unlock the condo of choice.   The challenge was having only two aprons between us.  All the changing and taking turns turned into two hours here!  In the end, the girls loved this sweet one:

Ai loved this big, sort-of timid boy who wanted to chase his shoe lace.

Not about to adopt one until I'm ready for it, we arrived home at dinner time, of which I wasn't allowed to eat.  Secretly, S had arranged with some of my friends here that they'd pick me up and take me out to a yummy Vietnamese restaurant nearby.  I didn't expect seven other friends to be waiting once we got there!  It was a lovely evening out and left me so thankful to have kind friends here to spoil me so.  It was only topped by Julie and Miriam's call from North Vancouver to say that as my birthday gift, they'd decided to fly out for a visit this summer!  Wow!  If I'd known this milestone would be so fun, I'd have hoped to have it much earlier!  Thank you for your kindness to me in any way that you express it.  I so appreciate God's goodness, blessing me with beautiful friendships of different forms.  I feel so loved!  Thanks again. :)