The Birthday Boy

Today is my husband’s birthday. It’s not a milestone year or a particularly significant age. Just a birthday. Everybody has them.

But my birthday boy has had some pretty cool things happen on his special day.

1. On his 20th birthday, in 1975, he asked me to marry him. Twice. Not because I said no the first time, but because I was in shocked disbelief and in order to make sure I had heard correctly, I asked him to repeat the question. Poor guy.

2. His 23rd birthday presented a new challenge. I had an art class that evening and we had just had our first baby nine days earlier. Dear Husband had his maiden voyage into taking care of a newborn all by himself. I think he cried more than the baby did. He survived, however, and so did she.

3. We bought a new car on his 30th birthday. A 1984 Ford Crown Victoria – navy blue, with all the bells and whistles, such as they were back then. We drove that car for 15 years.

4. I threw a surprise party for him one year (can’t remember which birthday that was) and invited a bunch of our closest friends. Except Dear Husband was sick (one of the three times in his whole life). Well, everyone else had a good time.

5. We spent his 26th birthday moving from Saskatoon to Regina. Lesson learned: don’t move at the end of February in Saskatchewan. It’s cold. Very cold.

6. I managed to snag a couple of scalped tickets to a sold-out Detroit vs. Vancouver NHL hockey game a few years ago. The game was on his birthday and he was thrilled to see his long-time favorite Red Wings play.

Today we’re keeping it simple. Dinner at Swiss Chalet for whoever can make it.

See you there!