Direction
Mooest
Old Moos
Moo to Me
Go to Diaryland
Sign My Guestbook!
Read My Profile
Rivers Point Webpage
Favorite URLs
Light a candle
<
My Trading Card
Pictures
The Family
More Furfamily pictures
Quizzes
Prince or Princess
Star Wars Test
100 Acre Wood Test
What Element am I
What Mythical Creature am I
Political Affiliation
Peanuts Character
Atlantian Duke
My Words
One Nation. . .
My Best Day
MY Journey
2002 Retrospection
Let There Be Peace
War Pictures
Best Stolen Stuff
Frodo Has Failed
Archived Pages
Entry 501-Present
Entry 401-500
Entry 301-400
Entry 201-300
Entry 101-200
Entry 1-100
Last Five Entries
Veteran's Day and an Etiquette Question
2003-02-23 - 4:46 p.m.
Almost Heaven.... Almost 37
We're safe at home from one of the best non-event weekends I've had in many many years.
As many of you know, we spent the weekend at a houshold "work" weekend... Well, that's what I thought it was... I mean I figured there'd be lots of pennsic discussion, lots of household project discussions and maybe some gaming thrown in for good measure. Well, as it turned out, there wasn't any Pennsic discussions or working on household projects. We discussed a few here and there, but nothing concrete was worked on or really discussed.
Friday night, I spent a few hours in the bathtub that could hold a small asian family and just loved life (i'll spare you the details... but let's just say there were bubbles.... LOTS and LOTS of bubbles. I had a nice thick book and a inflatable pillow for my head and some diet vanilla coke by the tubside... Heaven doesn't get any better that that. I got out of the tub in time for bed (about three hours after I entered).
I spent my time in the tub while everyone else around me played games and had much fun! I had fun too, but it was solitary fun!
I went to bed on Friday night, happy and relaxed while they gamed the night away :)
I woke up about 8:30 on Saturday and spent the day with blood sugar issues (I decided I needed an antihistamine so I took Claritin; my blood sugar did a peak and valley thing from 170 to 70 and back to 170; finally settling around 140 or so by dinner time. I spent the day looking pale and pasty and feeling ill. Luckily I was among understanding people and they did as I wished... they ignored me.
Saturday evening, we had a wonderful dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, pasta and a few other things I can't remember. Just as we finish dinner, the head of our household leans over to me and says that she and I need to go get ice cream before it gets late. That's a tradition in our household... She and I get a little bit of time to talk amongest ourselves while we bond over buying ice cream. Usually Gorm and Gwyn go with us, but not always. As we're getting ready to go get the ice cream, people are cleaning up, making comments about how badly everyone wants ice cream... the GOOD kind. Okay..... ice cream when there's 20 inches of snow... sureeee... why not. So off we go.
She decides to go wal mart to get the ice cream and I immediately realize that I need yarn (imagine that.. I need yarn!) So we get there, and the store is closed.. too much ice and snow on the roof. So we have to go to another store and while we're in route, the phone rings. Gwyn wants to know what's taking so long. Funny, I had no idea we'd been gone that long.
We get to the other store, spend a few minutes buying ice cream and then we head for home at breakneck speed. I wasn't necessarily hanging on for dear life or anything, but we were moving pretty quickly.
Dame Badger (our affectionate name for the head of our household let's me walk in the door first.... what I found just astounded me.
We walked in the front door and I looked to the left and saw a circle of people around the dining room table. The dining room lights were off, but in the middle of the table was a birthday cake with one lone candle. Everyone sang happy birthday in a very sweet quiet voice and let me stand there and cry, taking in the whole scene. There were people there I'd never met, singing to me! There were people standing there and I could see that they genuinely liked me, heck, a few of them loved me. They were all snapping pictures, and I was just too moved to say anything.
All I could think of wast that this was the first birthday party I'd had in 25 years.
I lookd over the table while the candle was still lit and saw two boxes; a card (I'll get to that in a second); and then it hit me... COWS. Someone (Gwyneth) had gone to the trouble to find and paint some little wooden cows.
I was so choked up, all I could do was point to the cows and say... "WOW! COWS! Everyone laughed!
I didn't realize until they turned on the lights, that these were special cows... they were painted in my colors (white with BLUE spots)!
Everyone who was there signed a birthday poster (9 x 12); so I have a wonderful mememto. The cake was great (even though it helpd drive the blood sugar to 156); sometimes you just have to say to hell with it and enjoy the first birthday cake you've had in 25 years.
There were even presents for me. For me! I was speechless! I mean, the cake and the singing and the white and blue cows was more than plenty.
There was a pretty wrapped box and someone handed it to me. I opened the box to find a large white cook's apron painted with what else, big blue spots! A COW apron! On one of the pockets of the apron was the household badge in big bold yellow and green! Gwyneth had painted it for me. I was amazed at the amount of love that went into such a gift.
If that weren't enough, I got a present from Dame Badger (no she's not a Pelican or a Laurel, it's just a silly comment someone made and it stuck, herein I'll refer to her as DB to not get folks' knickers in a twist).
Back in September, I went to an event in Aethelmarc for our friend Beth (whom you all know here as Sarna. At that event, they were holding a silent auction to raise money for their Shire (that Shire is just so cool.... words can't begin to describe...anyway).... I went over there to look at things to place a few bids. I saw a few trinkets and baubles that caught my eye and I bid on them. One thing in particular was a Byzantine Chess Set. It was a circular chess set with a handpainted board and pieces. I came back to where we were all sitting and told them all I had just found the neatest thing. I was just raving about it when I found out that DB was the one who'd made it for the auction. I was immdiately embarrassed that I'd raved so much and blushed bright red as we changed the subject.
Yet, here I am, some five months later looking at another Byzantine Chess Set in my colors.... blue and white (well, silver). The box was round and the top had been painted to be the game board. Inside the box were all of the individual pieces, each hand painted with tender love and so much care it was more than just a little obvious. Everything was just perfect.. The knights had swords, the King and Queen have crowns; I mean, it's just a beautiful set! And it was made for ME!
Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that someone cares enough about me to get me a gift, even if it comes from a store. They are still special and so very much appreciated.
But this took my breath away. Here is a person who sat down at her worktable to spend countless hours making something for me. Something that I'd only mentioned once; and never again.
I sat there in stunned silence and all I could think of was "they like me... They truly like me!" I was overwhelmed.
My birthday won't be here for another three days (Feb. 26th); but I've already found someone wonderful presents... the largest of which is that my love has a job that starts tomorrow.
He won't get paid for about a month, so things will be tight; and he's already warned me that my birthday present from him will be delayed until then; but that's okay. I have everything I need.
I am loved. If I have any doubts whatsoever, I just have to remember the faces of the people who sang to me on Saturday night.
Thirty Seven might not be so bad after all.
Please don't forget to answer my survey... it's research for a small business idea... all comments appreciated, no reasonable offer refused!!! It won't take five minutes, I PROMISE!
