It’s my wife’s birthday, as it gets tougher every year to shower her with meaningful, creative gifts. I’ve also had to reduce the budget a bit in retirement, so expensive jewelry is no longer a staple. She did need some rings resized and a few small stones replaced, including an opal to fill an empty setting. I tucked these inside one of two hinged Limoges Boxes that I’m giving her this year. It’s a porcelain birthday cake (no calories) with three balloons as an extension. It pairs nicely with a similarly designed cake box with a balloon cluster that I gave her 11 years ago. The second box that she unwrapped today, is a hand-painted postcard from Bora Bora, the sight of her 60th celebration. She puts all of her Birthday boxes together in a display every year to remind me that the day is coming soon.

Typically, her birthday is more than just a day long, as she’s the master of stretching almost every occasion. Cards and gifts have been trickling in all week from friends and family. Her Birthday is always the biggest event of the year, but may be upstaged with two weddings in the next few months. My other gifts this year included a Hanro nightgown and Angel Delicious Hand Cream. These are two of her favorite things. We’ll dine with her daughter and her fiance, along with our meat-loving pups at Podnah’s BBQ. Our schnauzer Tinker developed a special fondness for brisket when we would take her to Rudy’s in Austin. She still gets excited when I stretch out the name RUUUUUDYS, as I often used to tease her in anticipation. Since she can smell much better than she can see these days, we’re hoping that she thinks it’s a return visit to the Texas capital.

We also had a fancier dinner at Coquine on Saturday night with friends, and will go out again tomorrow night, to satisfy my wife’s “fondness for fine food.” I will cook on Birthday Eve, as my retirement promise to prepare dinner once a week continues without fail. I’m just glad she’s back from her business trip in Phoenix. Soon, we’ll be flying to San Francisco to wrap-up some plans for her youngest’s wedding. My wife and I are baffled by Miranda’s comment that her mother wasn’t being helpful in the overall planning, even though she suggested the reception site, did extensive ring shopping, paid for her wedding dress, and generously assisted with the costs of everything, along with her ex-husband. Older Sister Megan’s far more conservative wedding is here in Portland, so maybe she feels like her mom is doing more for that affair? It’s clearly competitive. I’m just trying to stay out of it, but had to get in a little playful jab in my annual poem.

Years ago, I got a legal copyright on the phrase, “Just Turned 21 For the Third Time,” thinking that there was no better way to celebrate a 63rd Birthday. Otherwise, it tends to be uneventful. As a result, I had several hundred buttons printed to give to friends on their special day. I included one for her hidden inside the Bora Bora Limoges Box that she unwrapped, along with this poem:

Twenty-One Times Three

Just Turned 21,
For the 3rd time.
So I’ve written,
This birthday rhyme.

I was not around,
For the first two.
But today,
I’m here for you.

Cake without calories,
In box number one.
The gush of gifts,
Has just begun.

Balloons attached,
Make it unique.
Like all your parties,
It will last a week.

Resized rings,
Now opal-icious.
Garnets affixed,
Angel’s delicious.

Hanro nighty,
Podnah’s BBQ.
Just like Rudy’s
The pups go too!

What’s inside,
Box number two?
Twin Limoges,
For Gemini you.

Memories of sixty,
Three years back.
Bora Bora magic,
In our Tahitian shack.

Back from Phoenix,
Still employed.
But I can tell,
You’re quite annoyed.

More pleasant travels,
Miranda’s way.
As we head next,
To Frisco Bay.

Marriage plans,
To be discussed.
This time you’ll be,
Some “help” I trust.

Mother of the bride,
Twice this year.
Both big days,
Are very near.

It’s quite a gift,
They’re giving you.
As your two babies,
Say “I Do.”

So, Happy Birthday,
And many more.
To their Mother,
That I adore.

Copyright 2019 johnstonwrites.com