The above is me slaving over a birthday dinner and birthday cake for Hurley's birthday today. He is turning 42 just in time for me to still honestly say that I am two years older instead of three (I'll be turning 45 in May). Hurley learned early on that Valentine's Day and Anniversaries could be vaguely acknowledged, but birthdays required MAJOR acknowledgement. Mine, for example, usually falls somewhere during Memorial Day weekend, so I fully expect a three-day celebration...as a matter of fact, I find it lovely that the whole country gets a long weekend to better celebrate my birthday.
Thirteen Birthdays to Remember
1. Hurley's family LOVES to tell of his 10th birthday. Mind you, Hurley is the fourth of four with his next older sibling being 9 years older! His birthday would conveniently fall during the Dade County Youth Fair...and huge event in the world of Miami kids. So his three older siblings told him they were going to the Fair. Hurley obliviously rode along, but when the car stopped, it wasn't at the fair. His three siblings looked at him with glee, anticipating the whoop of joy and excitement, and said, "Hurley! We're not going to the Fair! We're seeing the Harlem Globetrotters!" Hurley immediately burst into tears, refused to get out of the car and insisted, "I want to go to the fair!!!!" (Note to self, birthday surprises should be approached carefully.)
2. I turned 30 when we were married just nine months. Hurley's best friend Peter and his then-wife came by and the four of us were going bowling. I'm a small-town girl and bowling is something that I love and am actually sometimes good at...with my talent being directly proportional to how many beers I've had. When we got to the bowling alley, there were all our friends and family! A bowling alley surprise party. It was fun. Peter almost bowled a perfect game. I knew then and there I had married the right man...others would have plied me with diamonds and pearls...he knew a bowling ball and hideous shoes would do it for me.
3. 
Hurley's 40th was feted with a surprise trip to Europe...visiting
Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges and Koln. Three countries in six days...we
were very excited! Much beer was consumed. A long-standing commited relationship to Stella Artois was begun. We heard there was this cool museum in Amsterdam called the Van Gogh Museum, but we somehow missed it, opting instead to visit pubs, walk agog around the red light district and generally do other things that will not be blogged about because of potential ramifications from our progeny.
When you are in Europe celebrating, whatever can you do for a present that is going to in any way outdo the trip itself? I found the answer and here is Hurley with his present:
If you are ever fortunate enough to visit Amsterdam, we have a couple of suggestions. First of all, don't do it in March! Secondly, be sure to frequent the Bulldog pub and say hello to our favorite bartender!
4. 
When Rory turned 9, we celebrated at one of our favorite haunts in Merritt Island (running a distant second to Danny & Sonia's house), Grillz, but we just lovingly refer to it as the Tiki Bar. It's located at Port Canaveral and as you walk from your car to the restaurant, you can see fisherman offloading their catches and can rest assured that what appears on your plate will be ultra-fresh. You can order your fish grilled, broiled, blackened, etc...but the menu warns that if you want fried, the menu happily invites you to visit Long John Silvers. This day stands out because we were accompanied by our little friend Katie, then almost 2, and one of the hovering birds, accustomed to partaking of leftovers, ate her pretzel!!!
5. When I turned 41, Hurley was on a business trip and I was at the pool with the kids unaware of the flurry of activity that was taking place. Hurley was at the Dallas Airport, dialing all of my friends and inviting them to a surprise birthday barbecue for me at our house. One of my friends, probably Barb, was dispatched to take me from the pool to the bar at the club for a birthday drink so that everyone could gather at our house. When I walked in, there were my nearest and dearest and my husband at the grill. A true surprise and amazingly pulled together from an airport with a cell phone!
6. We were not especially into birthday parties when our kids were really little. I personally can't imagine ten or so 3 year olds at Chuckie Cheese, much less in my home. But when Haley turned 5, I decided it was time. I consulted the Penny Whistle Party Planner and threw a Mad Hatter Tea Party. The little girls were invited to come dressed for high tea...ruffled dresses, elaborate hairdo's, tights and patent leather Mary Jane's were de rigeur. I made a cake never to be improved on or even duplicated. The girls decorated straw hats. And one little girl's au pair had them all dancing. (Note to any guy who didn't click on the previous link...this is the au pair that all men WISH their wives would hire to care for their children...from Sweden, no less!)
7. My 1st birthday. Although I can't remember it, there are pictures and videos of my older sister Linda grabbing all my presents and opening them as I sat there in all my rolls of Gerber baby flesh, oblivious to what was going on, but dressed adorably. 43 years later, Linda rarely grabs my presents and opens them and we are the best of friends!
8. My 5th birthday...long before the days of clowns, ponies, magicians, Chuckie Cheese, Dave & Busters or outdoing the Jones's and thus raising the bar for all subsequent parties...was held in my backyard. In attendance were Susie Jordan, Ruthie Seubert, Donna & Sally Moore and me (and probably my sister, grabbing presents and opening them). Cake and ice cream were served. Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey was the delight of all in attendance. And it was probably all over in an hour or so. As a Mom, I long for those days!
9. My brother-in-law Mike recently turned 50 and was surprised to find old and new friends and family gathered, all wearing Gumby t-shirts in honor of some strange affinity he has for the flexible green guy.
10. My son Rory's 6th birthday...yes, another bowling party...we lived in NC where this was considered the height of class for a child's birthday party. I can't believe this cute little guy is now my big 11 year old, about to enter middle school.
11. Amy's surprise 40th birthday party. Me flying in from NC was the hardest part to keep secret. She called my house and the babysitter said I was out, so she kept calling my cell and I had to talk to her and make up all these errands I was running, all the while hanging out just a few miles from her house. It was also the last time I saw Amy's mom, Carol, and a time when she was so happy arranging the plastic flowers on the table, just before she got sick.
12. The days my children were born. Both were kind enough to make their appearance at a reasonable hour of the day, anxious enough to enter the world to do it in less than 4 hours with enough pain to get me an epidural but not enough alacrity to make me go without.
13. Hurley's birthday today....we'll see what that holds in store later!
Please share your wonderful birthday remembrances in comments!
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