Birthdays

I remember as a child looking forward to my birthday like no other day of the year.

It could be a regular day of going to school or running errands or kicking around at home, but in the back of my mind, in the corner of my giddy heart, I knew it was MY day. 

I knew there was something special to come that day.

Presents!

My favorite meal!

Cake!

Besides all that, it was about the extra bit of attention I could anticipate on that day.

Oh, the year my parents had a Barbie cake made just for me. I was on top of the world!

This year, my 49th year for feeling giddy and special and important, Mom and Dad gathered as many of our local family together at their house (a little early this year...we celebrated on Mother's Day), prepared some of my favorite food, plus the richest banana pudding I love...

The candles wouldn't stand up in the larger bowl of pudding, so Mom made me my very own.

Look at my cute vintage cherry hat I was given for a birthday gift.

I received so many special gifts, carefully chosen for me. A cherry hat, lovely hankies, two small vintage prints of the cutest people, money for Tybee, a Kelly Rae Roberts wall plaque, a vintage girl with bird print.

And this morning, on my actual birthday, the day after school was out at Moss Elementary, two days before our 30th anniversary trip to Tybee Island, I'm feeling exactly as I did as a child.

Special. I'm feeling special because I'm not rushing to get ready for a regular day of school or just running, like normal.

Special. Because of the piles of cards in the mailbox yesterday.

And for so many special Facebook messages, texts and sing-songy birthday phone calls. 

Special food planned by Mom and Dad for lunch (new potatoes are a regular item for my birthday meal but they weren't ready on Mother's Day, so I invited myself out to their house today).

Another special meal planned by Vaughn for this evening.

And he's agreed to my request for a fire in the backyard bathtub this evening (weather permitting). One of my favorite, most special, activities in the world.

The Family Stone Takes Us Into Christmas Break

It's Wednesday and today was my final day of school this year. The basketball concession I worked last night till 9:00 p.m., plus the day today, which involved taking a windy, noisy bus ride to McAlester to the movies with all of our elementary school, plus cookie decorating and WAY too much sugar intake for all involved, caused me to hurry home by 3:30, unload my goodies given by the cutest students yet, then head STRAIGHT to the bathtub to begin my vacation.

I lazed around for about an hour before Parker and Vaughn got home.  Oh, I think I folded a towel or two. But nothing significant.

After scraping together a meal of sandwiches and chips and some more of my gifted goodies, we gathered upstairs for The Family Stone, one of the Johnson's favorite Christmas movies.

Game on. Christmas is coming.

The Day Before Vacation

It's funny how much a person CAN get done in one day. Not just any day, though...the day before vacation. I wake up earlier, start marking things off my list from the very beginning. Laundry, started. Bed, made. Must get going. There's a sense of urgency. The wheel is turning and it cannot be stopped. All day I'm scratching away at my mental list of chores, the ones that will get me closer to heading out, away. Besides those chores I'm working ahead, accomplishing the things I'm obligated to for the whole time I'll be on vacation. Bills, paid. Emails, sent. Jobs, delegated.

I'm usually pretty organized, but on this day, I'm just plain effective. I use my time much wiser when my energy is all focused on one thing...vacation.

Thursday I leave for a much-anticipated 10 day trip to Europe with my friend, Sue Anderson. We'll travel to Detroit, then Amsterdam, tour for 2 days, then get on the SS Antoinette for a Rhine River cruise. Each day we'll stop at castles and tour vineyards and villages in Germany, then France, and 7 days later, wind up in Switzerland.

Of course I'm effective with a trip of a lifetime to motivate me.

One Suitcase

I love old suitcases. I've gathered them for quite some time, I think mostly because of what they stand for.

These two red ones were found at Canton, TX one year. They work well in the travel bedroom. I like to collect junky souvenirs and vintage travel memorabilia in there too. 

I think suitcases represent good times.  Going places, doing things, being able to be and go and do.

I especially love overnight cases.

I had quite a collection so Vaughn built this cubby in the laundry room/half bath just to house them and give them the honor they're due.

The vintage blue one on the top shelf has a special story. We were visiting Vaughn's Aunt Yvonne in Iowa quite a few years back and she was preparing for a garage sale. I said something about the cute little case and Vaughn's mom told us she had saved up money and bought it for her sister's graduation from high school. That cinched the deal. I now knew the story so it had to be mine.

The gray one on the bottom shelf belonged to my friend Sue when she was young. I bet it's been a lot of neat places. 

But today I'm packing one suitcase. That's my limit for this trip to Colorado. Each of us, Sue and Judy and I, can only take one suitcase.

So I got out my biggest and I am working extra hard to make sure everything fits but that I also have some room in there to bring back the purchases I will undoubtedly make while in Estes Park.

I hope to blog from there, but sometimes wi-fi is difficult to find.

I know this trip by heart. We've done it many times, but usually with Vaughn in tow. It will definitely include many visits to Rocky Mountain National Park, shopping in Loveland and downtown Estes Park, walks down the long, curvy road, lots of reliving of memories from years past with our families there, and some much-needed-good-friend-time. 

And John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High"...that's a given.

Love,
Tracey