We celebrated Lisa's birthday today. A day early. Tomorrow she has to work 12+ hours. The kids and I wanted to make her birthday celebration special. Although a few things didn't work out as planned, it turned out pretty great.
What did not work out as planned...
Lisa had to work 12+ hours on Friday. She didn't leave work until after 7 p.m. By the time she got home, it was too late to get anything done. That meant we had to tackle this stuff on Saturday. We had to cancel our plans for that evening. You can read about that here.
On Saturday, it took a little longer to get a few of the things on our to-do list done. We finally called it quits at 7. Showered. Sat down to eat dinner around 8.
The "pretty great" stuff...
This year, instead of getting Lisa 1 big gift, she received a single gift every day. All week. Through today. These gifts were items that she had mentioned wanting or needing over the past few months.
Lisa's very first gift was a new leather wallet. The old leather wallet I bought for her back in 2011 at The Big E was tattered and one of the flaps had ripped off. It was bittersweet tossing the old one, but Lisa was thrilled about the new wallet.
The second gift was a pair of Food Network grilling tongs with an oak handle. Every time Lisa grills, she grabs the tongs I use in the kitchen. They are too short for the grill so her hands always burn up. She won't have that problem anymore.
The third gift was a 24-inch sturdy backscratcher that resembles a mini rake. Lisa's back is always itchy. The flimsy older-than-dirt backscratcher we had snapped a couple of months ago. Lisa tried to put it back together with electrical tape, but...
The fourth gift was a Nike baseball hat. She's been wanting a new hat to wear when she mows the lawn and does yard work. This hat is made with a breathable, moisture-wicking fabric. She wore it yesterday and loved it.
The fifth gift was a Food Network cooking sheet for the grill. I can't tell you how many times Lisa has wanted one to grill veggies, pizza, seafood, etc. Well, she finally has one. After Lisa opened this gift, she sat at the table for over 15 minutes. Talking about all the different foods she can grill now.
The final gift was a lawn dart set. This Summer, we purchased a couple of lawn games and have enjoyed playing with our neighbor friends. Or, just us. A while back, Lisa talked about lawn darts. We both played this game growing up. We're excited to play!
Today, I made Lisa her favorite dinner and dessert. Lasagna. Garlic bread. Cheesecake.
I went over the top with the cheesecake.
Refer to the photo at the top of this blog column.
What Lisa did not know was that I invited a couple of our favorite humans over to join us.
She was surprised.
We had a great time.
The evening was supposed to end with a few games of Corn Hole, but Lisa is congested and feeling a little rundown. We're hoping it's just allergies from working in the flower gardens yesterday.
Shortly before I tucked Lisa and the kids into bed, she thanked me for a wonderful evening, delicious food, and all of the great gifts. I could tell she meant every word.
Sure, a few things didn't go as planned.
Working as late as she did on Friday sucked.
Having to work tomorrow on her actual birthday for just as long sucks too.
But, we made the best of it.
Delicious food. Cool gifts. Sharing a meal with our favorite humans. A few people stopping by to wish Lisa a happy birthday.
That definitely trumped what did not go as planned.
We are grateful.
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