Birthdays

April is such a busy birthday month for us...but it's all good.  I have two nieces, two cousins, Jay's mom and grandma, my grandpa's earthly birthday,  Lane's birthday, and of course, the most important one of all...MINE :)

I was thinking about my birthday as a child and something my niece said to my mom reminded me that many, many of my birthday parties were had on the tailgate of my dad's pickup truck in a field.  Mom would load up the cake and we'd head to the field, dad would jump up off the tractor and celebrate for a bit and get back to work.  I don't remember it bothering me, I was just glad to have the cake!

My most memorable birthday gift as a child was the Dusty Rose.  What is that you ask?  Although it was the color of my bedroom (along with country blue, you know it), it was also the name of the coolest bike I ever had.  I can remember walking out to the old shed and seeing my mom and dad standing there propping up the Dusty Rose.   It was rose-colored, of course, and had the good old-fashioned banana-type seat.  Remember?  The long, skinny seat.  The chain guard was white with...drum roll, please...roses on it.  What a sweet ride. 

Funny, as I write this, I am thinking that I had two bikes growing up, two.  Count them...one, two.  My son will be getting his third bike in two days when he turns eight.  Madolyn wants a new bike (only because she loves the big fat seat on the bike I have now..oh wait, actually she can have my seat because Hank the Tank II, who is so precious, chewed it up) and if we decide to get her one for her birthday in August, it will be her fourth bike.  She claims she's too tall for the current one...

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?  Ugh, I'm ashamed (I've got to work on this spoiling problem, which I am NOT proud of).  Okay, so this is not about how many bikes my kids have...anyway, birthdays, yes, that's what we're talking about. 

Some interesting gifts that Jay has given me for my birthday:  a goat, a race horse (obviously not for me), a 1993 Chevy Beretta work car (again, for Jay to drive to work), a horse weather vane, a new bicycle, a handicap toilet, and anything on my wishlist from Accents (that great store in Martinsville).

I know, you're stuck on the toilet, right?  But I asked for it.  I truly wanted one.  After my parents replaced the old toilet in their downstairs bathroom and put in the handicap toilet for my grandparents to use when they stayed there for a timebeing, I was sold.  I think every household needs one and I think all public restrooms should have the higher toilet.  I'm not getting any younger, and I've been watching my grandparents and parents as the years pass, it is not going to get any easier to do a squat.  I love my toilet...and really miss it when I have to use a regular 'short' one.  In fact, just last week I was at a hotel and had to squat so far down to hit the seat that I was afraid I would not be able to get back up.  It is really great when you decide you need to start exercising after a long hiatus and your thighs are so sore, they shake when you start the squatting process...oh yeah.

As you think about your upcoming birthday, if you can't think of something exciting to ask for, give the handicap toilet a thought.  You won't regret it!