Yes, it's true...Queen Elizabeth II and I are celebrating our birthdays today. Hers might be going a tad more royally, but I am having a fine time of it here as well. I rose at 5:00 a.m. to get showered and drive Matt to swim practice...twice as a matter of fact, as he forgot that his swim bag was in Dad's car since Mark picked him up from practice last night so they could go golfing, Matt forgetting to switch out the bag between cars...Dad never drives early morning practices...Dad is probably not even aware that there is such a thing as 5:00 a.m. Back to the house, load the swim bag, up to the pool...hmmm...a great start...we really don't make enough trips to that pool in a day as it is...up, back, up, back, up, back, up back...can't wait for that boy to get his driver's license!
Matt had his Incoming Fall Student Freshman Retreat at Guerin Catholic High School - Home wherein all the newbies were given a tour of the school via a "very fun and cool scavenger hunt," met other newbies, had food and refreshment, heard various speakers and saw various little film clips dealing with the school, etc....even played some outdoor games. Noon to 4:00. He loved every minute of it. I did a little laundry...yes, Virginia, there really is laundry even on birthdays and national holidays around here. Thank goodness for washers and dryers of today!
Matt and Mark golfed 5:40 until 8:00...Alex being grounded for yet another smart mouth infraction...you would think anyone with his high IQ would have figured out the cause/effect relationship here in this smart mouth/grounding regard...apparently not. It is one of the few areas he seems to be slow on the uptake.
At 8:30 my guys hosted a birthday dinner for me...prepared by them, complete with a pretty pink and white cake with flowers. Very tasty...bistro steaks, steamed broccoli, cucumber and tomato salad, and crostini topped with melted Gorgonzola and walnuts...very nicely done, all of it. We also witnessed cleanup by said guys, and while at times I have found that this is sometimes more painful than it would originally seem in the offing, I decided I wasn't willing to tackle that part myself and enjoyed the time off. On Monday night Mark is taking me out to eat to celebrate...sans teenage boys who have been known to finish off appetizer, salad, dinner, every roll in sight, and dessert before Mark and I have even made our way through a salad. I am looking forward to it.. Mitchell's Fish Market....something fishy with my name on it...what's not to love about that?!The photo above was taken 50 years ago...I was two at the time...that's a lot of candles on said cake...who knew we would get this old this fast? The advantage of marrying an older man (3 years older in my case) is that no matter how old 52 looks...in July 55 will look even older: that does something for a girl's ego where age is concerned. It's awfully sporting of him to capitalize on that for me.
All in all, a great day just to be hanging around with my guys, chauffeuring Matt a bit, receiving Birthday cards, emails, IMs, and calls, and reading whenever I could sneak it in. I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, maybe for something with the Queen in London, but short of that....