I'm back, and I want to write again. It's still slow, but it feels good to finally put something down on the keyboard. I'd like to talk about gifts. I had another birthday since we talked. I am more than sixty now, and I have some nifty gifts, and a lot of trouble. So here's goes...
There was a celebration for my birthday and my daughter Karen's birthday. There was no time to bake a cake, so the boss ordered two cakes: one for Karen and one for me. She asked for writing on the cakes: one with 'Happy Birthday Karen' and one with 'Happy Birthday Joe'. Karen and I went to pick up the cakes. The line was very long. Finally, we approached the counter. There they were! Karen's was beautiful: Happy Birthday Karen! Mine said nothing. The cashier said that she didn't hear the second instruction, so only one cake was written on. We just wanted to get out of that bakery. We got home and the boss decided to write on the second cake. 'Happy Joe', and a exclamation point before my name! Woe is me...
My birthday has come and gone, and now I have a new hair trimmer from my son and his family - not the kind that you cut your hair with, but a little device that cleans up your nose and ear hair. SHOCK is the word that comes to mind when I turn it on and begin trimming. There is a bright light on the tip of the device that shows me everything, and it's a wasteland in there. I love my trimmer, but there is work to be done. See you in about an hour!
I have a new gift - a tea towel with the Liberty Bell on it. I love the Liberty Bell. I hope I have a Stay-cation this year with Karen so I can see it again. I love the tea towel, too...but look at the tag! Girls Can Tell! ? I think I'm losing the tag before I lose my masculinity.
Sometimes I don't listen when someone talks. I don't mean to not listen, it just happens. I could say the strokes made me not listen, but I didn't listen before the strokes. So now, I have a gift - an appropriate new pair of socks. Selective Hearing Specialist - I have a new title, and I like it!
I love to spoil myself sometimes. It's a birthday gift to me to periodically check the cd's in Goodwill since they are a rarity these days. Sometimes I strike gold and other days its next to nothing. I found the album, 'Ray Charles - Genius Likes Company' for a dollar, and brought it to the cashier. He was pleasant enough as I put my find on the counter. Then he said, "I see you are a 'senior', so this will be eighty-five cents." You know me, and you know that I love a bargain, but you also know that I am NOT that old. I should have told him that sixty-five is the legal 'senior' age...the little dirtball!
There are many blessings coming my way. Seeing everyone gathering together makes me nostalgic. I remember the gatherings for my father on his birthday. I remember his face when we were all together. I smile. Good gifts, tangible or not, are a blessing...
...and a whole lot of trouble!
