Yesterday was my birthday. It was a good day! This year was extra special because my family made a big effort to not have me do anything for planning. And I’ve had to plan this day since Belinda was also born on it, 19 years ago.

I remember when I was pregnant with Belinda, people would ask if I’d love it if the baby was born on my birthday and I said I would definitely not, because then it wouldn’t be “my” birthday anymore. But God had other plans!

Since that first year together I have thrown a lot of birthday parties. Family would come for the party and ask me where my cake was. Like I was going to make two cakes. We never even finish one cake. And honestly, I didn’t feel like it was my responsiblity to also make or buy my cake! I would always get some gifts, of course. But the day has been primarily Belinda’s since 2007.

This year she had her friends over on August 4, and she planned most of the fun herself. She talked Lenora into making her an ube roll cake. She borrowed chess sets from Bennett to have a chess tournament. She asked me to pay for pizza, which I gladly did. I didn’t feel good that day but I still sang and watched her blow out the candles. It was a good time.

She told me not to worry about our shared birthday, and that she would handle it. My only concern was that since she had a cake already, she wouldn’t want one on the shared birthday, but I said I would be sad if she didn’t have cake and candles that day.

So the morning of the birthday, I woke up early to take Sarah to band. When I got to the car, I saw that my broken window, which Ben had duct taped closed, had fallen farther in the heat. It was almost half way down. Temperatures have been over 100 lately.

But it was morning, it wasn’t hot yet, and I thought, “Well, I’m going to do a drive through for my breakfast.” I haven’t done anything like that since it broke a few weeks ago, so this was actually a treat! I had black duct tape hanging off it, which was a little embarrassing, but I got Sarah to the school and then ordered Sonic on my app. Junior sausage breakfast burrito with added bacon (birthday decadence) and a small order of tots. One dollar tip. I drove to Sonic and went to the drive through and gave my name. I got to the window and the girl did the very, very slightest flinch at all the duct tape but then she said nothing and neither did I. I worked at McDonalds. I know this girl has also seen many windows in disrepair and mine was not the worst she’d seen. But I got the bag and drove straight home because I didn’t buy a drink.

Ording Sonic from the parking lot at the school.

Waiting at the window!

Got inside, got my water, opened the sack…inside was a largish white sack. Odd. Maybe they were out of little tot bags and put the burrito and tots all togethr in this white sack.

Inside the sack was seven mozzarella sticks.

Birthday cheese surprise!

So I ate mozzarella sticks for breakfast! I only ate three and then put the others away and Bennett ate them when he came by for lunch. They were warm and ready and nice and I wonder who got my burrito! I rarely order mozzarella sticks because I know I can buy frozen ones way cheaper and heat them in the air fryer (although I don’t do that much anymore either) so it was a real treat to have them. Belinda noted that mozzarella sticks aren’t a breakfast item at Sonic, even though they can do them then. Lenora, Bennett, and Belinda all commented that mozzarella sticks dont even come in a seven-stick size. I was unaware my children were all so versed in the available sizes of items at Sonic. So it was a real mystery how this happened, but it wasn’t a terrible one.

I took care of Mom’s morning stuff and it wasn’t that bad, probably because I hadn’t had to do it since Sunday. It seems that when I don’t have to do it repeatedly I can handle it better, who would’ve thought.

I watered the plants and took some photos. Harvested a tomato and some strawberries and my first blackberries!

Birthday harvest.

That afternoon Belinda went to Mustang and brought home my favorite meal, an absolute treat. I still have half of it in the refrigerator, and I’m excited at having the rest of it. We watched a crime documentary, a guilty favorite for us both.

Family came over that night and Ben R and Lenora brought dinner. Lenora made me some homemade cinnamon rolls. She is a very good baker! She just started making her own rolls and this was my first time to have any. Bennett and Mia brought the chantilly cake I’d asked for months ago, from the grocery store in town. It had to be pre-ordered – a big ask for our family – but it happened! It had both Belinda and my initials on it. The second half of the ube cake was also brought out but we didn’t get more candles so Mia ended up putting all we had (15) on the chantilly cake and Belinda and I blew them out together. Krislyn and Gary and Sarah were there after rehearsal for Tarzan and we just hung out more.

Chantilly cake after I got the candles out. It was so good!

Ben wanted to get some stepping stones out of the van since we’re taking it to Alva today to move some things for Belinda, and Bennett and Ben R helped with that. Then Ben R and Mia started helping me clean out the weeds in the flowerbed! It went so fast and made me so, so happy. I feel pretty hopeful about getting the soaker hoses moved and the mulch put down and the stepping stones put in place now. Bennett got two of the weird melons that have characteristics of both cantaloupe and watermelon picked. One had a soft spot and another one had cracked. I’d noticed them that morning. I thought good, we’ll figure out what these are. There’s still five left. They were supposed to be Orange Crisp watermelons.

CANTALOUPE! Womp-womp.

So athough these melons are bigger than cantaloupe and are not ripe yet even though they’ve been here long enough to be done if they’re cantaloupe, they are indeed cantaloupe on the inside, or something very like it. I tasted a bit and it was quite cantaloupe-y. I don’t care for cantaloupe and I have been growing seven of them in my front flowerbed!

These were a bit underripe, according to Ben R, who likes cantaloupe, so these went to the chickens, who I’m sure were delighted to find them this morning. I have reduced watering efforts on the rest of the vine, so hopefully the other five don’t split. All my early-summer watermelon dreams are now pinned to a single sugar baby melon on the other side of the flowerbed. We shall see.

So everyone left, I put the cake in the fridge, I loaded the dishwasher and watched a youtube podcast and then went to bed. A very good birthday. I really don’t know when I have had a more satisfying birthday.

This morning I got up and watered everything and then thought I could totally sit on the porch and type everything out. The hummingbirds have been coming and getting nectar and this one that makes little squeaking noises when he drinks honestly came up about two feet away from my face and studied me, just hovering there, and it was awesome. I have seen two at the same time, but I think there are probably more. They are even drinking most of the nectar before I have to refill because it gets old. I just watched another one come and drink from the vincas and then from a cucumber flower. That’s really nice. I’m glad I saw it. I haven’t seen any ruby throated ones, just the more plain ones, but they are very neat. It seemed like we had hardly any for so long, and now there are more. I’m guessing these are babies that have grown up here this summer.

When I came down to the kitchen this morning to take care of the dishes, there was a big cat vomit on the kitchen floor and while I was in there Rosemary created two more gross puddles. I emptied the dishwasher, reloaded it, restarted it, did the hand wash dishes, and ignored the cat vomits! It’s not my birthday anymore but I’m just going to sit here and watch hummingbirds and listen to the wind chimes a little bit more before the rest of the day gets going. Cat barfies can wait!