First day of Forty-Nine: Regrets to a Dearest Friend
Dearest Friend,
So sorry I'm having to cancel dinner tonight. As Joe is going out of town for work on my best birthday yet (so determined Iam was!), I was looking forward to making us a feast: lasagna with bolognese, spinach and artichoke; olive ciabatta; more olives; some fresh chevre and a great bottle of Spanish wine.
Oh, and chocolate. Because... chocolate.
That was the plan, my Love, until Kiddo woke up. Overnight he went from a mild, sniffy kid to full-on Gross Grumpy Bastard. I tried to take his temperature orally and got yelled at a few times because the thermometer kept falling out of his mouth. I must admit, I was temped to tell him "If you want to act like a baby, I'd be happy to take your temperature like a baby". Snarky mom moment. I gave him some children's Advil and some Delsym as he's got a fever and wicked sore throat, barky cough. (You don't want that, trust me.) I can't blame him for feeling lousy, but geez kid, get into the birthday spirit! Fever down, Joe walked to the store with him just now to pick up Advil (for me), eggs (because we forgot to buy them yesterday), a digital thermometer and pasta. Sorry to say, we're going to have the bolognese for lunch because it needs to be eaten. I finally got the recipe perfected, too, after the last time I tried making it for you and Joe--guess I'll have to wow you on another night.
Come to find out, we also forgot to buy Triple Sec yesterday and so that new bottle of birthday tequila will have to sit waiting until I can get to the liquor store-- my birthday margarita has been postponed. It looks like I was planning on drinking my way through the day, and that's not exactly true, but since I'm the only parent on deck for the next few days, I'd had hopes for a refreshing drink to look forward to in the afternoon. Apparently, 49 means imposed temperance, ha ha. (Who am I kidding? We always have that bottle of Tanqueray in the freezer...)
All that said-- thank you for being such a good, strong friend. At this age, although I look forward to spoiling us with feasts in the future, I can do without the ciabatta and wine-- I cannot do without you. As we get older, I think the cornerstones of celebrations are not necessarily based on which foods I can still eat without consequence, but who I can spend time with without consequence. Even though I can't eat cheddar fries with you any more (I know, it's been years!), I will be glad to sit across the table at the retirement home and eat whatever blandness I'm allowed. Plus, Jello fights. Gotta have the Jello fights when we get old, keep the younger ones on their toes, right?
Thank you for your graceful accommodation of my crazy life and I look forward to seeing you soon, dearest of friends. Now, I'm off to take a birthday nap!
Much love,
Hazel
So sorry I'm having to cancel dinner tonight. As Joe is going out of town for work on my best birthday yet (so determined I
Oh, and chocolate. Because... chocolate.
That was the plan, my Love, until Kiddo woke up. Overnight he went from a mild, sniffy kid to full-on Gross Grumpy Bastard. I tried to take his temperature orally and got yelled at a few times because the thermometer kept falling out of his mouth. I must admit, I was temped to tell him "If you want to act like a baby, I'd be happy to take your temperature like a baby". Snarky mom moment. I gave him some children's Advil and some Delsym as he's got a fever and wicked sore throat, barky cough. (You don't want that, trust me.) I can't blame him for feeling lousy, but geez kid, get into the birthday spirit! Fever down, Joe walked to the store with him just now to pick up Advil (for me), eggs (because we forgot to buy them yesterday), a digital thermometer and pasta. Sorry to say, we're going to have the bolognese for lunch because it needs to be eaten. I finally got the recipe perfected, too, after the last time I tried making it for you and Joe--guess I'll have to wow you on another night.
Come to find out, we also forgot to buy Triple Sec yesterday and so that new bottle of birthday tequila will have to sit waiting until I can get to the liquor store-- my birthday margarita has been postponed. It looks like I was planning on drinking my way through the day, and that's not exactly true, but since I'm the only parent on deck for the next few days, I'd had hopes for a refreshing drink to look forward to in the afternoon. Apparently, 49 means imposed temperance, ha ha. (Who am I kidding? We always have that bottle of Tanqueray in the freezer...)
All that said-- thank you for being such a good, strong friend. At this age, although I look forward to spoiling us with feasts in the future, I can do without the ciabatta and wine-- I cannot do without you. As we get older, I think the cornerstones of celebrations are not necessarily based on which foods I can still eat without consequence, but who I can spend time with without consequence. Even though I can't eat cheddar fries with you any more (I know, it's been years!), I will be glad to sit across the table at the retirement home and eat whatever blandness I'm allowed. Plus, Jello fights. Gotta have the Jello fights when we get old, keep the younger ones on their toes, right?
Thank you for your graceful accommodation of my crazy life and I look forward to seeing you soon, dearest of friends. Now, I'm off to take a birthday nap!
Much love,
Hazel
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