Happy Happy Birthday

No, not mine. I wouldn’t be pointing it out if it was mine because this is a significant one. Well, I guess each and every one is significant, right? You only get so many.

It’s my husband’s birthday.

Look up — there he is! If you read the book, you know him as “Joe” or “the hubster.”

I’m knee-deep in birthday preparations right now, and let me tell you, it feels like I JUST did this since Thanksgiving was only four days ago. We’re celebrating at home, with family but no gravy this time. We tried to plan some sort of appropriate pagentry to celebrate the occasion like a dedicated happy hour or dinner out with his posse of pals, but you know what? A December birthday is a very hard thing; it falls at the worst, busiest time of the year — high school basketball season. Perhaps in the spring we’ll have a blowout fiesta with friends. Half birthday, right?!

Still, the day will be fun and festive because I am going to make it so, dammit. He’s pretty low-key and I know he doesn’t really care, but this hardworking guy who pretends not to notice when I wear a new pair of shoes and appreciates home-cooked dinner even (and maybe especially) when it’s Trader Joe’s heat-n-eat meals and was and is chill about me poking fun at him in print for any and all to read deserves a special day. And if I could make it more special by fixing that drippy faucet myself, I would but I’ve already watched two YouTube videos and have gone to the Home Depot website and I’m flummoxed. But, I do know how to fix the apple-blueberry pie that he requested and that will be perfection.