Someone is Four! An Almost Normal Day

We were watching the Academy Awards and had been for most of the evening. We knew Molly had gone to the hospital a day or two before for observation for her pre-eclampsia as we awaited the birth of our first Baby Grand. We would get a call when things looked ready to pop. Rick finally went home and as the awards were wrapping up ("We'll be back in a minute with the winner of Best Picture!"), the phone rang, he came by within moments and we were off to the hospital in Livonia, where we began "the long wait."

It wasn't until the next day that I heard the mistakenly announced "La La Land" as Best Picture instead of "Moonlight." But sometime around two or three in the morning, we got the best award ourselves -- our first Baby Grand, a healthy little boy.

This past weekend, he turned four. And he was really geeked up for his party of close family members. He was dressed for the occasion.

We arrived early enough to pull him away from the International Space Station and get him into his birthday ensemble. 

Then mom arrived home with the balloons.

Always a big hit!

There were presents, of course. He's very into the planets and knows them all, so we got him some planet masks and pajamas, along with a board game and contribution to the college fund.

Then came the cake!  One must sample first! (To be honest, I think every one of the toddlers there swiped at the frosting before the candles were lit!)

Little Bro was enjoying it just as much as the birthday boy.

 Then it came time for the big blow!

Let's just say that I passed up a piece of cake. Between little fingers savoring the decor on the side and numerous blows (because of course, extra candles were added), I figured I could give it a pass!

The only bad moment of the day was when we came out of the house and realized someone had plowed into the side of Rick's car. It was a bit puzzling -- a wide street, a beautiful, sunny day with no ice or snow on the road -- how could it happen? There was a big dent and some scraping, fortunately all on one panel of the back door. There was no note and you can imagine, Rick was not happy. But when Kevin checked with the next door neighbor to see if their security camera had recorded anything, the neighbor fessed up right away and he and Rick will work something out.

Rick and I took off after cake and took the scenic way home, first stopping at the Italian market. I thought this cover on an Italian magazine pretty well summed up life in the U.S. these past six months.

Then a quick stop at Duluth Trading Company, just to see what it was all about. I was surprised how many clothes they had. If I didn't have enough hand lotion to stock my own spa, I would have bought some of the orange-grapefruit, which smelled great and didn't set me into sneezing and coughing fits like most fragrance does!

It was a gorgeous day and fun to get off the expressway and see life on what used to be the main road to Detroit in the days before highways. There was more sprawl than we would have liked to see between small towns but also some beautiful countryside. And look! Our snow is beginning to melt!

The road we took passed by the cemetery where my dad's parents and earlier generations were buried. It was a gorgeous day, so we stomped about in the snow, scraping away some of the snow. 

All in all, a mostly perfect day -- and best of all, an almost normal one. It will be a long time before I feel comfortable in the company of others, but it was a wonderful first step.

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