Now that it has finally ended, the story can be told...since my 30th birthday celebration last year was commandeered by my parents, Mrs. Dave had no hand in planning it (though she did muchly enjoy participating). This was rectified quite well with the 31st birthday celebration.
It all began the night of the 9th - after the roaring (quite literally) success of our Brad Sherwood/Colin Mochrie outing, she took me to see Wayne Brady. Prior to the show, they were passing out slips of paper for audience members to write silly song titles on. I managed to dredge "Cattle Prods and Masking Tape" from the depths of my mind (a place even I am afraid to visit too frequently) and jotted it down. After a lengthy and highly-amusing show, his last number was a series of improv tunes with the titles we had provided. The first one out of the chute was "Here Comes the Smack Fairy", set to the tune of Creed's "Arms Wide Open", and others followed with names like "My Love For You Is Like This Lukewarm Potato" and so on. And then came a plinking piano and "Cattle Prods and Masking Tape", done in the style of a children's song. Natch. And then for about two minutes, he just shuffled back and forth like an awkward 9-year-old who's forgotten his lines in the school musical. After a bit of (actual) prodding from his comedy cohort, he ended up coming with something, but I take pride in having stumped Wayne Brady, even for a few minutes.
Saturday saw us meet a fellow couple with big news (an engagement!) for brunch before driving to the next event. My family has fanatical secrecy surrounding birthdays, Christmas and other occasions, and some of it has rubbed off on Mrs. Dave. She's learned not to ask me what she's getting for a given holiday (or at least, not to expect a straight answer), and this time she only gave me directions, which ended up taking a turn off a rotary in rural New Hampshire, into a post office parking lot. Fortunately, the parking lot also happened to house a day spa, and I got myself a back massage and exfoliation while Mrs. Dave got herself a facial (since what's the point of just sitting there while your husband gets worked over?). Good stuff. From there we toddled back home for dinner, caught a movie at the local cineplex (The Da Vinci Code - decent, not jaw-dropping) and that was Day 2.
Sunday was an activity inspired by me - unknowingly. After having seen on a friend's blog that she was interested in having folks address and stuff envelopes for Guster's upcoming album shipment (which released today!), I jokingly forwarded the link to Mrs. Dave asking if that was part of the activity. So after a breakfast muffin, off we drove to the Porter Square area to do just that. We cut out around 3pm to go see the Red Sox game (the second one of a doubleheader - they got killed, unfortunately) and then it was back home to wrap up the weekend.
The actual day of my birth was uneventful, as my office forgot. Again. Third time in five years, and one of those times was last year, when Mrs. Dave actually CALLED the office to tell them it was my 30th. We feasted upon tepid Taco Bell. So it's just as well that they forgot, though I was going to announce my impending fatherhood. Oh well, their loss.
Then it was up to my parents' place for celebration, part 2. I got a battery tester and sorting rack from one brother (dorky, I know, but I go through SO many AA's that I got tired of throwing batteries out that I wasn't sure were good or not) and a copy of Grace Potter & the Nocturnals' "Nothing But The Water". I saw them back in February and they blew me away so it was nice to get the disc. I'd actually asked for either the first OR the second, but since my brother couldn't find their first disc, he got me a gift card for when I found the first. Very nice of him.
But the big gift was from my parents - in honor of the incoming child, they thought they'd take care of the first shelf of the reading library. So in a big stack, each individually wrapped, we now have copies of two Frog & Toad books, two Richard Scarry books (The Best Word Book Ever and Cars and Trucks and Things That Go), Make Way for Ducklings, Goodnight Moon and The Tale of Peter Rabbit. This kid is going to get a lot of reading, just like I did - my father would play a game and read a book to me and my brothers every night before bedtime. With three kids, that's six bedtime activities per day for who knows how many years...wow. That's an example to follow.
Leave a comment