Birthday Weekend 2022

 

Well, I am pleasantly exhausted. Another Hopper birthday has come and gone.

For the past fourteen years, however, my birthday has been eclipsed by Patch’s. Hers is the day before mine, and traditionally (and at my request) the focus of the dual birthday celebrations have always been on her. This year’s was no exception.

Patch’s birthday fell on Friday. Sadly, she had to attend school. But happily, the Mrs. was able to pick up her older sister at college and bring her home for the weekend. So we had a full nuclear family in attendance for the festivities.

Me, I worked some extra hours so I could get out early on Friday. While the wife was gathering up the no-so-little little ones, I clocked out of work, tidied up the house, ran a few quick errands, picked up a last minute gift, got home and showered. As a family we drove down to Dallas for dinner – Patch wanted a ramen noodle place, and that’s where the best ramen noodle place happens to be located. We ate a delicious meal in an authentic Asian restaurant (the bar had the TV flatscreens glued to the NASA channel). I did my admirable best against a menu of which I had no idea what to expect, it being basically anglicized Chinese. But whatever I wound up having, it was fantastic. As was everyone else’s.

We motored back home for Patch to open her gifts. Everything seemed to be a hit, and it was mostly makeup and skin care, some shoes, some Hello Kitty paraphernalia. I got her a Bob the Minion stuffed doll, because she and I’ve been bonding over the Minion movies on Thursday nights, a favorite animated series from her youth. We broke out cake pops for dessert and then watched one of her favorite shows together as a family.

Saturday was my birthday. I started it off with the mowing of the lawn. Not a tradition, and not something I was honestly looking forward to, but the two-week mow cycle fell on my birthday and, well, I’m an admitted slave to routine. Besides, Patch was refereeing some morning soccer games and Little One, the collegian, was sleeping until 11. “Dad,” she said, and she might have been serious, “try to mow as quietly as possible.”

At noon we picked up our stolen-and-retrieved Honda CRV! Seems okay, with no real damage to the body or the engine. Then we returned the rental car, and then the ladies were off for some “thrifting” (i.e., last minute gift shopping for me) while I was free for the afternoon. I picked up some lunch and had a quick Facetime chat with a buddy from New Jersey, then headed home to my temporary Fortress of Solitude.

Over the past four years I’ve been granted the birthday wish of watching a science fiction movie distraction-free on my birthday. It started with The Day the Earth Stood Still, and was followed by Dune, Forbidden Planet, and, last year, Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This year I felt something different was in order, and I selected a World War II flick, the three-hour ordeal known as The Longest Day. I had watched snippets as a kid and tried to get through it maybe fifteen years ago, but only made it a third of the way in. This time, over a sumptuous meal of buffalo wings, I watched it in its entirety and enjoyed it, genuinely touched at a few scenes.

Little One and her mom made me a perfect, juicy steak with asparagus and mashed potatoes later for dinner, then I opened my presents. They truly outdid themselves! I’ll discuss my birthday haul tomorrow. Afterwards, we had some cheesecake (well, I did, the girls not being fans of any cuisine that combines the word “cheese” with “cake”), and watched some more TV as a family. One thing we’ve been into off-and-on over the past two years is Dateline with Keith Morrison. These true-crime shows appeal to my oldest, Little One, as does that incredibly lined face of its white-haired host. The ladies all went to bed and I worked my way through a George R. R. Martin longish short story in my reading chair under the lamp for an hour or so.

Started Sunday off with a nice long walk to burn off those chicken wings, steak, asparagus, mashed potatoes, and cheesecake. We all went to Church, then Patch had her mom drive her and her friends out to the mall while I drove Little One back to college. After her laundry was finished, of course.

All in all, a great Birthday Weekend!

Grade: A+