My daughter planned and organized and accomplished a surprise 30th birthday party for her beau. It was lovely, well done, and full of laughter, fun and happiness, good food and good friends and family. (You will notice I judge the success of any event by the laughter, food, and company. I can even tolerate mediocre food and still judge it a success, but with the people I know mediocre food is rare indeed.)

He was completely surprised even with most everyone invited being on Facebook, and friends on FB, the event (hidden) on FB, plotting and planning around him. He was a wee bit embarrassed but delighted and flattered. It was so much fun to witness his arrival!

Today’s gratitude is for being off of work today. After working Friday night, coming home and baking two cakes, being at the park from late morning (the party was in the park), setting up the tent – LOLs and LOLs, but successful – a quick replenishment run because of a balloon bunch escape – and dragging and decorating tables and chairs we finished in ample time for guests and the guest of honor. The GofH was late due to unforeseen slowness of the golfing party in front of them and excuses had to be made to cut the game short at the 15th hole! He was told by his friend who driving that he had to make a quick stop to drop off an needed item at his friend’s bday party and my daughter even thought of putting a bunch of pink balloons at the entrance to the grove so he would not be suspicious. (Yes, those were the escapees plus a couple mylars.) He thought it was a short stop and then home to shower because he was told we were ll going to dinner downtown for his birthday. I so love these things! And so did he. *grin*

Then there was partying, eating, playing cornhole (2 wins, 2 losses, it was my first time)  and leaving at 10 p.m. It was a full day. I didn’t get a chance at lawn darts or bocci ball (and I so love bocci ball and haven’t played in forever), but I was never bored. I am a bit tired. Good tired, though. Happy tired. I am grateful to be off today. *smile*

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Twenty-one years. Gah! Feels like so many fewer. *boggle*

Fun times, hard times, but always worth it times. Yay for us!!!!

^5’s the hubster.

[imagine a scanned wedding photo here] that I am too beat to actually scan and post. *wink*

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That’s it. That’s all. *grin* 

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 I don’t remember it feeling this ….. sane before. Maybe I never actually had it, only faked it really really well.

No matter. I am happy for the settled pool of it in my core. I can dip my fingers there whenever I choose and let it drip lovingly from crown to toes. Aaaahhhhhh …….

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First – my daughter has a jinx when it comes to cars that thus far cannot be broken. I used to tell her that her vehicles had a bullseye on them because of the frequency with which they were hit. One got rolled up on the curb in South Side from a drunk in a truck, the insurance company refused to total it and it never ran right again. Another got pushed partially up on a curb in …. North Side? (Pattern here?) She had not been in the car either time. Next she got rammed from behind while sitting stopped t a red light. Her neck and back have never been the same. After that one I told her it was *her* that the bullseye on the back of her head.

<Insert various other weird calamities only one of which was her fault> When I got my car last August we gave her the old one (a habit started by my parents, when we buy a new one of the kids get our old one). It was also a Malibu, ran fine, body in decent condition, no extras. It immediately starts to reek of gasoline while driving it. She gets that fixed. It stays mostly fixed. Then a few weeks ago it starts accelerating madly while stopped at red lights and when in Park. She drove a mile including some of it uphill from a red light w/o ever hitting the gas. Niiiiiice. I teased her the thing had an identity crisis and thought it was a Toyota. 

I made an appointent to have it fixed at the dealer where I take mine as she was between mechanics as the most recent one seemed rather lame based on multiple people’s experiences. I explained the Toyota complex to the mechanic. He thought he knew what the issue was. I get a call the next day asking when the car did it because they could not make it repeat the action. I explained when/how to the best of my knowledge (daughter was out of town at a wedding) and he said he’d mimic the way she drives it and see if they could cause the problem. A week goes by…..

Today they call. After puzzling over the thing (they did manage to make it go VROOOOOOMMMM!!!!!) they could not find a cause. In a WTH move they cleaned out a whole bunch of whatevers (air intake valve maybe was stuck?) and finally after 2 more days of running it crazy to make it vvvrroooooooommmmmm without the gas pedal it appears to be fixed. ^5 to perseverance on the mechanic’s part!

Cost? $90.59. 

Exceedingly grateful.

Now to smudge the thing and try to remove the jinx ……

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 Clothing that looks comfy, flattering, and easy to move in. It will be worn (out) because it is versatile, but I get to debut it at my son’s rehearsal dinner. So excellent shopping online day ~ and the items were on sale! *happy dance*

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If you love something, set it free;
If it comes back to you, it’s yours,
If it doesn’t …….

No, no, no. Frankly that is bullshit. If it doesn’t come back to you, it is because you let it go. Duh.

This a different kind of letting go.

So I gave myself permission – finally, finally, finally I gave myself permission to let some stuff go. Torn and tattered edges it had from decades of being clenched in my tight little fists, my fingers creaked open and released. I noted as I watched it float away and I wished it well that while it was now gone from me, I was still whole.

~bliss~

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Which needs no explanation. A good day (yesterday technically) that ended with a ….. okay, I won’t be that obvious.

It is after midnight so this is counting for Sunday’s gratitude even though it is almost cheating to do it now. But now is when I have the boy’s laptop. And the desktop upstairs is *horrid* for typing as the spacebar is near broken. No wonder they only use it for gaming.

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Smartphone, laptop, eyeglasses. The only 3 things I buy them for. Trackpad being replaced on the laptop. (Did I break it by banging on it being angry on the Internet?? Hahaha) 3-5 days. Posting from the phone a PITA.. But grateful nonetheless. 🙂

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