My Half Century Mark

When I wrote this blog (that I found buried in my purse recently), I was still enjoying a country weekend--house had been cleaned, plants watered, candles lit in every room, so good smells were wafting about and I took pen (keyboard) in hand to write.

Right before Christmas was my birthday. My 50th Birthday. I was the first in my Elder Group to turn 50. Expected to set a precident? I hoped not. I'm quite uncomfortable being the center of attention so I was hoping no big secret plans were made. I heard a phrase and ran with it--I wanted to elope with my birthday.

Papa turned 50 several years ago. He had worked himself into such a state that I had to plan a trip and we left town so he wouldn't have to endure any birthday festivities around home or work. We had a very nice trip to Sanibel Island, Florida laying on the beach in the daytime and going to spring training baseball games in the evening. By the time we came home, he was relaxed and had moved past his birthday.

I wasn't quite this bad. I wanted it to be a non-event though. Haven't enjoyed my birthday in several years, not connected to aging, that's never been the issue.

I suggested maybe a weekend away at a lodge in the Ozarks but Papa isn't the trip planner in our family. Unless I plan it, it doesn't happen. I guess I could have planned it but it was pre-Christmas and I was getting exhausted already and didn't have much initiative myself.

We had planned to drive to Phoenix over the holiday break from work (we get two weeks off), but then Papa cmae home one night telling me he may have to work during the break but wouldn't know until the last minute! GRRRR.

I was missing Fantastic Son something awful and told Papa if we couldn't drive to Phoenix, then I, at least, wanted to fly down myself for a short visit.

So as my birthday loomed closer, Papa started hounding me for a birthday gift idea from him. So I said buy me a ticket to Phoenix to I can go see my son. Done.

So even though it was another Christmas without having FS there, I knew I was at least going to get to see him and Serious Girlfriend and the Three Bonus Kids and that improved my mood terrifically.

So as the actual date of my 50th year arrived we were in the country. I was happy and it was a low key day. Papa wanted to go to dinner and a movie and kept pushing that all day but by dark the wind had picked up, it was drizzling and sleeting, biting cold and I had to play the "it's my birthday, let me do what I want to" card. What I didn't want to do was go outside at all. So I popped two Salisbury Steak tv dinners in the oven and we ate those in front of the tv and watched White Christmas two times that night and let my birthday pass on by. And that was that.

An Older Grammy

Long Time--No See(Read/Blog)

Boy, so glad I didn't sign that contract with Blogher! That way I can have these four month vacations from blogging without repurcussions.

Let's see since October, when I last wrote, there has been: Halloween, Thanksgiving, snow, my half century birthday, a long overdue medical physical, snow, holiday stress, car issues, sock monkeys, more snow, Christmas, medical tests including a colonoscopy, tornadoes, New Year's Eve, a trip to Phoenix, more car problems, being sick, back to work, snow, snow, snow, ice, stuck in the ice and snow, more snow and continual car problems, the P's started a soccer career, Pollyanna's 50th, and now you are pretty much caught up with me!!!

So you want some more details? Let's condense--holidays. Ok Halloween with the P's.





Both Perfect and Precious were Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. Precious so wants to emulate her big brother and no talk of being a princess or even Jessie, the cowgirl, from Toy Story would change her mind. Perfect was going to be Buzz so Precious woul be Buzz.

Thanksgiving was low key. DD had to work and had big Black Friday plans (spreadsheets and all!) and so SIL took the P's to Iowa for a long weekend with extended family on his side of the family. Papa, DD, and I had a low key Thanksgiving with the usual fixings, an afternoon movie, and some last minute help with DD's Black Friday planning.




I finished the weekend at a Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute show with a couple of my elders. Here's Tiny Sun.



Soon after Thanksgiving, the weather changed and winter set in. We had the usual pre-holiday stress, shopping, wrapping, shipping, work functions, holiday dinners, happy hours, decorating....just a lot of work. This year we again focused on the city house for the holiday and didn't put up a tree in the country.

We'd been busy during the Fall weekends with moving and unpacking things from #2 Massey Gardens back to #1 MG until the bad weather hit and the road between the two places got undriveable for the winter. So things slowed down on the weekends and I just didn't want to stress out during my small amount of weekend free time with putting up and then taking down decorations at a second house. That and I fell once again in early December on a Christmas walk in Augusta (the weekend I had planned to decorate) and was sore for some time afterward. Just a plain snow/ice mishap.

Now here I sit in February enjoying my country weekends once again. My books are all unpacked and we are spending weekends watching movies (and ID tv), reading, napping, going into town to eat at the diner pretty often, and over to the Walk for an occasional movie out.

The snow has finally melted but it's pretty much a muddy mess out here right now. It rained earlier today (this was written Saturday, 2/19 actually, just had some delay in proofing and publishing!) as well, so Snoopy and my walks don't look to be happening either any time soon. So guess I'll become one with the recliner and murders on tv--maybe a bowl of popcorn would be appropriate now.

Hope to talk to you......sooner.

Grammy