Thursday February 18 2016  “THE GIFT OF YEARS”

Today was my 39^th birthday (again)!  And oh what a wonderful day it was!  Dave and I were up and out by 6:30 a.m. so we could fit everything into the day that we (or maybe I should say I) wanted to do.  He told me if I drove I could go and do whatever I wanted to and he promised not to complain or become impatient!  He was good to his word.  First of all he HARDLY ever complains, and it is unusual for him to become impatient unless we have a time deadline.  And, of all things, he feels a great need to be on time.  Time seems not to exist for me.  I get so caught up in whatever I am doing and I forget that the clock just keeps on ticking.  I am actually trying to improve that area of my life.

But today…well, what can I say?  It was absolutely wonderful because I really did not have to pay attention to time.  That in itself was probably the best gift I could ever receive.  Here is a SHORT rundown of our day.

At the gym from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (half hour hydro massage included)

Home again to change.

Stopped by the bank for Aldi cash (they don’t take checks or credit cards)

Off to Mt. Horeb for a second breakfast of chili.  But they didn’t have chili so I had Borscht soup and Dave had the chicken noodle soup.

Off to Schubert’s to share the most delicious vanilla milkshake.

While at Schubert’s the proprietor offered us apiece of homemade apple pie. (And we ate it.)

Met five delightful ladies, all wearing beautiful bright, red hats.  That is, until I left.  Then only four of the ladies were wearing beautiful, bright red hats.  One hat walked out on top of my head!  I couldn’t believe it.  When I asked if I could take their photo they all agreed.  I commented that the hats looked so beautiful and I wished I had a red hat.  A lady named Ellen stood up, took her hat off her head and put it on mine and said, “Now you do have your own red hat”.  I was embarrassed that I said that because I did not mean for someone to give me their hat.  It is so beautiful and the multicolored brim matched my multicolored neck scarf perfectly.  Ellen wouldn’t take the hat back.  I walked out of the restaurant strutting like a peacock.

All of the ladies from the Red Hat Society (who call themselves “LAUGH-A-LOT LADIES” appeared to be about my age or older.   I just wanted to sit down and join them.  They were a colorful group, and I only wished I could have been a part of their crowd.  I did have a chance to ask each one for a quick, one sentence message of wisdom, to pass on to others who are approaching aging.  Here are their comments:

Ellen:  “LAUGH A LOT.”

Judy:  “ENJOY EACH DAY AS IT COMES.”

Doris:  “DON’T STOP.  KEEP GOING.”

Marion (aka: Mary):  “LOVE YOUR FAMILY BECAUSE THEY ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.”

Helen:  “EACH DAY IS A GIFT.  THE GIFT OF YEARS!”  Helen is the oldest of the group at 91.

Back to our itinerary.  We left the restaurant and went to the business next door which is

the Bargain Nook.  It is a resale shop with some new items.  Dave found a few new shirts and I purchased a photo taken in 1957 which I plan to use for a blog topic soon.  I also purchased a book, and a couple of sweater blouses.  When you shop at the Bargain Nook on your birthday everything is half price up to $50.00.  It is a small store and I didn’t find much for me.  But it was fun.

We left Mt. Horeb and drove about 15 miles back toward Madison and stopped in the town of Verona.  There we browsed through St. Vincent De Paul’s resale shop.  Well, I browsed, Dave sat on a soft chair and played with his phone.  Albert, my longtime friend, called me from California, and it seemed we talked forever as I walked around the store.  I finally had to go because, I literally “had to go”!  A little while later when we were ready to pay for our items I realized I didn’t have my credit card.  I had used it last at the Bargain Nook, about 15 miles away.  By this time we were both hungry for real food and planned to go into Madison to eat at one of our favorite places called R.P. Adler’s.  It  was almost 4:00 p.m. and we both needed to eat.  Our second breakfast at 11:00 a.m. and the milkshake, apple pie, and cheese, had kept our appetites comfortably satisfied up to that point.  R.P. Adler’s quits serving lunch at 4:00 p.m..  Now it was 3:45 p.m. and we had to go back to Mt. Horeb to pick up my credit card.  A phone call to the Bargain Nook confirmed that the lady had forgotten to give it back to me.  SHAME ON ME FOR NOT NOTICING.  I’ll just blame it on my age for not being more attuned.

Dave called the restaurant and asked if we came a little after 4:00 would we still be able to order from the lunch menu.  We like the prices on the luncheon menu best and I knew exactly what I wanted.  We had an alternative plan but we had both hoped to go R.P. Adler’s.  The person who answered the phone said it was okay to be late.  So that is what we did.  We arrived about 4:30 p.m.  The lunch was great!  We were getting ready to leave when a waitress walks around the corner with a piece of caramel covered cheese cake with a lighted candle in it!  What a surprise!  I had told them earlier it was my birthday so I assumed this was something they do for the birthday person.  Wrong!  When we were at Schubert’s earlier, our daughter called and we mentioned that we were going to eat at R.P. Adler’s for lunch.  She called ahead, paid for our meal, bought the desert and had it delivered to our table, and also gave me a generous gift certificate to eat there another time or two.

What I didn’t know was that she had called Dave while I was browsing at St. Vincent’s talking to Albert,   and they were both in cahoots with the plan.  I was totally oblivious.  Dave was so cool about everything, especially after he realized we might need to change restaurants because it was so late.  I already had an alternate plan but he never acted ruffled in the least.  He just let the drama play out, picked up the credit card, I drove back to R.P. Adler’s, and there we were.  Pigeon, delivered just as planned.  And I was still clueless.  I guess I am probably clueless about a lot of things, but we won’t go there.  After all!  This is my birthday!

Our food was delicious as usual.  Afterward we went to Bed Bath and Beyond and I picked up a new loaf pan I needed.  They had just the perfect pan.  Then, we drove out to Costco to buy some vacation jeans for Dave.  Fortunately they still had the kind he likes in his size.  And our day was over.  We ran out of time.  We (I) almost accomplished everything we set out to accomplish.  We didn’t make it to Barnes and Noble, nor to the library.  Those are two of my favorite places to spend my birthday or any other day.  I love being surrounded by books!  I especially enjoy the library because I feel as if I own them all!

Now it is past my bedtime.  My birthday is over for another year.  I just wish I could slow the year down.  It seems each year passes faster and faster.  Each year the piece of life’s pie gets smaller and smaller.  And the years go quicker.

 

LIVE IT LIKE A QUEEN

By Kathleen Martens

February 18, 2016

 

Another birthday come and gone.

A day to celebrate birth.

A day to enjoy and to cherish,

When remembering what life is worth.

 

A day to commemorate

The time and date,

When your clock began

Ticking your fate.

 

And oh how fast

Time is measured,

With joy and sorrow,

And golden treasures.

 

And the wisdom given me,

To all should be sought.

Remember to be filled with joy

And always “LAUGH A LOT”.

 

We are never promised tomorrow.

Life is shorter for some.

So be sure to remember

To “ENJOY EACH DAY AS IT COMES”.

 

“LOVE YOUR FAMILY JUST BECAUSE

THEY ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU”.

“EACH DAY IS A GIFT”

AS “THE GIFT OF YEARS IS TOO”.

 

And whatever you do,

Just make sure you “DON’T STOP”.

“KEEP GOING”, whatever it takes,

You’ll always come out on top.

 

So birthdays come and birthdays go,

Life is lived in between.

But on that very special day,

Live it like a queen!

 

So now you know what last Sunday’s party was to be about.  It was what I call my surprise birthday party.  Even though the snowfall cancelled the event last Sunday, we are going to try again this Saturday!  Hopefully with 50 degree weather forecast this Saturday we won’t get snowed out!

It is late so I sign off.

Good night and God bless you!