Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Ever have one of those weekends that you just wish would last forever? I just did. I don’t normally throw parties for myself or try to put myself at the center of attention. This past weekend I did. It was my 30th birthday a couple weeks ago and doggonit, I was throwing myself a party.

I mentioned it to Mom and Dad and asked if we could do it at their place and they said I could. It would be on Saturday. My friends and I would go canoeing in the morning, take a break in the afternoon and have a BBQ at ma and pa’s in the evening.

Thursday night my sis decides to give me the biggest gift of the weekend by surprising us and showing up. We didn’t think she would be able to make it and neither did she until a few days before. No matter what else happened that weekend, my weekend was made.

My Uncle Joe and Aunt Kathy came up the next day and so did my cousin Becky and her husband Carlos. I was excited about them getting there, too. Carlos is in the Army Infantry and was in Iraq for the war and just got back this past March. I wasn’t able to make it down to Tennessee for his welcome back party so this was the first time I’d seen him since he got back. I like him a lot since he has the type of personality that fits in well with our side of the family. Oh yeah, he treats Becky well, too.

I was just as excited about seeing Becky. I think the world of her. She’s such a strong gal. Having Carlos in Iraq was really hard on her but she kept a great attitude, considering the circumstances, and was the perfect military wife for Carlos while he was gone. She and I Emailed and talked on the phone a lot during that period and she’s become like another little sister.

Friday night, the Callahan brothers (Jesse, Paul and Ben) and I played in our sand volleyball league. Heather, Becky and Carlos came out to root us on along with Paul’s girlfriend. We didn’t play well but Heather always has a way of lightening things up by yelling out random, weird or inappropriate things. My personal favorite was "If you lose, I have NO brother." We lost, by the way. Read into that what you want.

The next day, Carlos and I went fishing in the morning for about an hour and a half before canoeing.  It was relaxing. I heard some stories from Iraq and he showed me a knife he took off an Iraqi who tried to stab him. We each caught a fish but they weren't terribly big. I don't think either of us were really looking to catch anything to keep. It was just a relaxing way to start a long day.

Everyone showed up at mom and dad’s at about 9:30 AM and we drove off to the river and canoed for a few hours. It was a lot of fun. My closest friends, some tipping, plenty of splashing and swimming. We also spent plenty of time skipping rocks during our frequent stops. And just for the record, horseflies now fear me. I am a killer.

We wrapped up around 1 PM and everyone went home to clean up. During the afternoon, Carlos and I made use of some bottle rockets and firecrackers by blowing up apples and acting like 13 year olds. It was great. We also got out the water-balloon sling shot and hit the extra garage and my truck. That part was an accident but still funny.

People started showing up at 6 PM. The Callahan boys brought their volleyball net and we set it up. Dad was cooking burgers and hot dogs. Mom was running around being mom. That means she was making sure everything was running ok (read: perfect). The water-balloon sling shot was brought out again. We played volleyball.

Later, the cake was brought out and everyone sang me Happy Birthday. After I got my piece of cake, I wandered into the front room and just sat there quietly. It started to touch me that these people came out there for me; to share that day with me. Family, friends, my pastor. It was a day I wished wouldn’t end.

It did. But I’m certainly not unhappy about that. Life is filled with mountain tops and valleys. This past weekend was a mountain top and I cherished it for everything it was. I still do.