Happy Birthday

I just put a load of wash into the dryer on my way up to bed, and decided to take a quick detour into my new "office" to tell you about my day today.

It started off like any other day, the alarm sounding at 6:00 a.m., except this time my waking thought was, "Hey! It's my birthday today. Happy Birthday, Me!" The kids reminded each other that today was my special day, and aimed to have excellent behavior. They were even fairly successful. After our family prayer time, my husband and children sang me a lovely rendition of "Happy Birthday." And as they headed out the door, the kids reminded me that after school I would not be allowed to enter the "play room," for they were going to have a surprise for me there. What fun!

With that, it was time to get started on my Friday chores - laundry. All I did was pick up the basket, the empty basket, but it was enough to really mess up my back. I haven't been able to stand straight, walk normal, or sit without pain in my back today. I don't remember asking for a back ache for my birthday! But it was with me all day.

Christine, my editor, called me with Happy Birthday wishes this morning. I got to have lunch with a friend and then spend the afternoon visiting with my grandparents. (Grandma just turned 89 last Saturday, Grandpa is 90 and they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last month!) Those were "easy on the back" activities and I enjoyed both of them. From my grandparents' house I went to school to pick up the kids, to the movie store to get our "movie night" selection, and back home where my husband was waiting with the finished "surprise" about which the kids were so excited...On one wall of the play room, conveniently located right under the light, there is now a desk with my computer, complete with storage for all my "stuff"! They gave me an office for my birthday!!!! The kids and I have even agreed that I won't put my books, folders and papers on their table, book shelves, or toy box, and they won't cover my desk with their toys. Sounds like a plan.

So then there was dinner and we said "Good-bye" to Dad - He has an overnight activity for work. We popped pop corn, put the movie in the DVD player, and settled down to watch Christopher Reeve save the world in SuperMan IV. Truthfully, I took a little snooze through part of the show. When it was over, Joshua and I opted for an early bed time. Seems like the perfect end to my birthday, right? Oh...It wasn't over!

I was laying in bed with a heating pad on my back, trying to get comfortable when I heard Joshua start coughing. Yes, it was that kind of cough. I got out of bed to have my fears confirmed. He had thrown up. All over the place. So I helped him clean up and sent him downstairs so I could work on the beds and floor. I won't give you the details. Just use your imagination - and double it! I was scrubbing and vaccuuming and changing sheets. And the boys have a large set of bunk beds - there is no way to not use your back when you're changing those sheets.

When I was finished I came downstairs to tell Joshua he could go back to bed. He said he felt better, and I told him that usually when you're sick and throw up, you start to feel better. Well, we made it upstairs and he stopped in the bathroom...and got sick again. I held the bucket for him and he observed that I was probably getting sick of him getting sick. I smiled and told him this was all part of my job as his mom. I remembered aloud that my mom did the same thing for me when I was a kid. That seemed to satisfy him. Then he climbed into bed and I reminded him I love him.

One more trip to the basement to put the sheets and other victims of the sickness into the dryer, a stop into my office to share with you, and now I think I'll go turn that heating pad on again and see if I can get some relief for my back. Ugh, I feel like I'm getting old! Oh, yea, it's my birthday! :)