Birthdays and Unbirthdays

Sorry, it’s been so long since I updated. The week has really gotten away from me. Aubrey told me she was going to post an update, but she is still in a euphoric trance after I bought her 4 Fall Out Boy/Metro Station tickets this week and has not snapped out of it. Yes—I bought Aubrey her coveted tickets as a birthday present. Her birthday is April 12th and the concert is May 16th, but we’ll make it work. Despite everyone’s gentle persuasion, I could not subject myself to the extortion necessary to see my beloved Killers. I bought Morrissey tickets instead. Woohoo! I invited my brother to go with me. It will be a lot of fun, except that my brother is extremely good-looking and could possibly distract Morrissey from making his marriage proposal to me. Oh well. His loss . . .

Speaking of my brothers—today is their birthday. Happy Birthday Jim and John!! (They are identical twins—that’s why they have the same birthday). If I had to guess, I would say that Jim is celebrating by wearing sweat pants, and John is celebrating by going to class. Believe it or not, I actually remember when they were born. I was a little over 2 years old and no children were allowed to visit the hospital. My grandma snuck me in to see them and to see my mom who was missing me. I still remember being picked up under my arms and, with feet dangling, looking at them through a thick glass window with a fine-wire grid pattern on it. And it was then that I realized . . . I now had somebody to Lord over!! And not just one baby but TWO! My reign lasted for the whole six days they were in the hospital because as soon as they came home I realized there were two of them and one of me. I was no match and I’ve been trying to reclaim my mommy and my rightful place as Supreme Ruler and Queen Boss of the family ever since. (I think I’m making some headway . . .)

For my brother John’s birthday—I hope he gets a new baby. His wife is due to have their second child any minute. It would be too perfect if she were to give birth today. After all, John already shares his birthday with Jim, so it’s not like it would steal his thunder or anything. As a gentle reminder, Jeff shared his birthday with our anniversary. His untimely death has negated both events and left May 21st a conspicuously uneventful day on our calendar. I am considering having an “Unbirthday Party” ala Alice in Wonderland to commemorate the day. We will dress up like the characters in the book—Aubrey can play Alice, I will play the Queen of Hearts (of course), Finn will play the Cheshire Cat and Regan and Jack can fight over any number of peripheral but equally delightful and important characters. We will have a Mad Hatter’s tea party (Jeff LOVED tea), complete with mismatched tea service and we will follow the Mad Hatter’s party agenda. That is, we will randomly change seats, challenge each other with riddles that have no answer, and make spontaneous personal remarks. We will close the party with a rousing rendition of “A Very Merry Unbirthday” and voila—a new tradition will be born. So save the date.

In the meantime, Valentine’s Day looms . . . I trust you will all celebrate it well this year. Thanks as always for checking in. I love knowing you all are there.

Until next time,
Kelly