Michael's 39th

When Michael and I were dating we were wandering around Walmart a couple weeks before my birthday. I saw a super cute pair of pajamas and commented, "These are so cute! They would be a great birthday present!" I then wandered further down the aisle. I turned around to find Michael dropping the pajamas in his cart. I was aghast.

That was not how birthday shopping was supposed to work. You would thoughtfully, and secretly buy your loved one a present, and then look forward to their surprise as they unwrapped the gift. I explained all this to Michael. He was not of the same opinion, but he respected where I was coming from and put the gift back. He then bought be something else, at a later date.

Fast-forward twenty-ish years. I asked Michael what he wanted for his birthday this year. He was uncertain. I was tired. I then offered to just give him his birthday budget and he could buy what he wanted. He happily agreed. Michael went on an Amazon shopping spree, and received his cardboard boxes on his birthday. Do Amazon boxes count as gift wrap? In our house it did this year. 

Oh how my standards have dropped!

He enjoyed his birthday, even if I'm a slacker. His sister delivered cookies to his office, which he wasn't at. He took the day off work, but made time to go pick up a massive box of cookies.

(banana for scale)

For dinner I made him his requested dinner of gnocchi with fontina cheese. We had homemade gingersnap cookies with homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert. In years past I have made him a ice cream cake, but this year was all about simplicity. A cookie, a scoop of ice cream, some sliced banana, and a little bit of caramel sauce. Easy and still super yummy.

After dessert we watched Back to the Future II. Michael introduced the kids to the old franchise, and found it deeply satisfying they enjoyed it so much. I imagine we will be watching the 3rd one soon.

It was a markedly low-key celebration, like most of ours lately. It has been beautiful in its own way.

With everyone home we also made time to do some tie dyeing. A bag of activities was dropped at our doorstep by an almost-anonymous source that included tie dyeing supplies. We had a lot of fun making several creations, although they did not turn out as well as our previous attempts.

It was still a fun project that everyone enjoyed participating in. 

Happy Birthday Love! I hope the next year isn't one of so many interesting events.