1978

I just had my 30th Birthday! I didn't say anything about it ahead of time, not really sure why. I didn't have any worries or fears or regrets (not like I could change the fact that I'm aging!). I'm actually quite happy to be 30. But that means I really have to be a grown-up now. I liked Carmen's take on that. (She even wrote that on my birthday.)

When Paul turned 30 last year, we had been under quite a bit of financial and emotional stress due to the long wait to sell our house in Prince Rupert. We just weren't in a crazy party-throwing frame of mind. We went out for dinner with friends and quite enjoyed that. Then there was that surprise 30th party for Paul's good friend last summer ... Max still talks about the costume party, his friend Mr. Pirate, and all the other "folks" he socialized with.

We decided to do a little more to celebrate my 30th this year. I told Paul I didn't plan to clean the house for a party, and he said he'd figure something out. Fine with me! On Friday evening, while he was out working on an outdoor side-job during a windstorm, he called to ask me to find a babysitter from 12-5 the next afternoon. Um, okay. Thankfully, I did manage to find someone available on my second call. She even had her own car which was a bonus that we didn't have to drive her here and back home, especially since my van was in the shop!

I didn't know what the plan was, but had a few suspicions. Paul cleaned out his work truck and even covered the passenger seat with a soft blanket for me to sit on. (We couldn't remember if it was the one that had anti-freeze spilled on it. It was dry at least, and no dirt. :) The drive was long enough to pick up tea to go from Tim Hortons. Imagine my surprise (okay, not really) when we pulled in to the parking lot for The Olive Garden. He had been teasing me that I had been twice in two months, now this was my third time. He hadn't been there for at least two years. We had a nice lunch, made more interesting by our rookie waitress. I asked if we had time to sneak over to the Jacob Connection store to look for a shirt. I've had good success finding maternity suitable shirts there and wanted to see if I could score another one. They had the same style that I already have two of in different colours. I didn't even try it on, and it was on sale! When I wore it on Monday I discovered that it's actually different than the ones I already had. They are 3/4 sleeve and this one is full sleeve, and it feels generally smaller - although it's the same size as the others. Ah well, I'll get some good use out of it over this winter. After that, we made our way to ... the spa! One of these, to be exact. With the back pain issues I've been having, I had an appointment booked at my regular massage therapist for the following Tuesday. The surprise cost twice as much as my regular RMT, but the ambience was fantastic! We both enjoyed a nice long massage, in the same room. It was fun that he got to have one too, and not just sit out in the waiting room. Mine was technically a "third trimester" special massage. There wasn't much especially maternal about it, just that she propped me up quite nicely on pillows. And then we came home. The boys did very well with the babysitter. Max had said before she came that he didn't want a babysitter, but after she left said he had lots of fun. Marty went down for a nap for her with no complaint at 1:30 and didn't wake up until after we came home. Too bad she's moving away soon, otherwise we'd have called her again. (And again, and again!)

So for my actual birthday on Monday ...
Because my van was in the shop all day Friday, I had arranged for Max to get a ride to and from school with a friend. She initially offered to keep him for lunch and playtime, but had to cancel that part. I offered to keep her son here so she could go to work. We did that, with the plan for Max to go over to their house on Monday. On Friday (before I knew about my birthday surprise the next day) I asked if she could watch both my boys on Tuesday afternoon so I could go for my massage. That would be fine. Well on Saturday evening I called to cancel that and asked if she still wanted to have Max over after school on Monday. Monday morning she called to say yes. She didn't even know it was my birthday, but gave me such a nice gift in picking him up from school at 11:30 and having him at their house till 3:30! It was a small taste of what a full school day will be like. He sure was tired that afternoon and evening. I'd go so far as to say he was pooped ... as I discovered this morning that he had actually stepped in some dog poop at their house. Oops. He went to school in his summer slip-ons today while his runners are soaking in the sink.

To finish off the day, Paul skipped a church meeting that he didn't really need to be at anyway. We had leftover roast beef, and I made a chocolate cake from a box. I whipped up some cream with chocolate pudding mix to go on top.

And that was my 30th Birthday.

I won't be posting any pictures we took that day, as they turned out somewhat unfavourably. However, this evening I have a photo session with a photographer friend, Anita Chapman. You must check out her work, here and here. I've been helping her with editing her business documents, and she's paying me with photography sessions. I'm totally getting the better end of the deal! I'll post a link for you to see when she gets them online.