Another Year Older

Yes, my birthday was yesterday. Alas, I had to spend most of it at an education seminar in Thief River Falls, MN, away from my family. However, my wife and daughters are so wonderful that they thought of a way to make my day feel special even though I was "at work." They sent me off in the morning with a big gift bag bearing this note:

Kevin's "Birthday Bag-O-Fun!" Open the gift marked with the hour at the appropriate time--no fair opening ahead or waiting 'til the end of the day!! With love and wishes for a wonderful day from all your girls

So I brought the bag and, on the hour every hour, opened another gift. Not only was it fun for me, but it also entertained the other teachers at the seminar, who got to see everything I received and even got to partake in some of the treats! Many of the gifts were designed to be useful at the workshop I was attending. Here's what I got, when I got it, and the note that accompanied it:

7:00 A.M. -- a half-dozen old-fashioned sour cream donuts (my favorite kind) -- "The girls wanted to serve you breakfast in bed, but we're not likely to rise early enough--so pretend you're still in your jammies, ok?" I was traveling to TRF with three other teachers from East Grand Forks, so I shared with them while we drove.

8:00 A.M. -- "Rubber Grip Stick Pens with Fashion Inks" -- "Hillary was sure you'd like all the 'totally wicked' ink colors -- happy notetaking!" -- The package of pens was wrapped in a Hillary-made card decorated with lots of, um, "abstract art" in shades of orange and red. She wrote her own name at the bottom. I used different colors of pen all day long!

9:00 A.M. -- a mini stapler set -- "We've seen the binder--this might come in handy . . ." -- The binder to which this refers is my three-ring binder PACKED with handouts for the seminar.

10:00 A.M. -- a bag of M & M's -- "mmm . . . chocolate! 'nuf said." -- I was seated next to my EGF colleague who is known district-wide for being the queen of chocolate. When I opened the bag and handed it to her, she was most pleased! When I indicated that she should pass it on after helping herself to some, she looked crushed! The bag was empty after two passes around the table.

11: 00 A.M. -- a battery-operated personal fan -- "Abigail was concerned that you might get too hot -- we're sending along batteries, just in case she's right!" -- It was wrapped in an Abigail-made card with flowers and black rain clouds on one side, and on the other side, "I Love You, DaDa!" Above that, she wrote "To Dad" on one line and "dy" underneath it. She also wrote "Abigail" right above "From:"

12: 00 P.M. -- a five-pack of highlighters -- "The 'highlight' of your day . . ."

1: 00 P.M. -- a spiral-bound notebook with a blue patterned cover -- "Suzanna chose this particular notebook because it's your favorite color!" -- In it was tucked a Suzanna-made card in shades of blue with "Happy Birthday Daddy" on the cover, "Suzanna Loves you Dad" on the inside, and "Love You Dad" on the back.

2: 00 P.M. -- a bag of KitKat Bites -- "A little more chocolate to get through the day!" -- This bag, too, was empty after just a couple trips around the table of teachers.

3: 00 P.M. -- a TV Guide crossword puzzles book -- "Relax--enjoy--you've earned it!"

4: 00 P.M. --a gift card to Movie Gallery (a movie rental store) -- "One last little treat--use it tonight or keep it for another time! I hope you've enjoyed all your little goodies today--Happy Birthday! I love you! Susan P.S. This isn't the last gift."

When I got back to EGF, my family took me out to supper at G.F. Goodribs, where I ate barbecued spare ribs, a twice-baked potato, baked French onion soup, garlic toast, and frozen mud pie for dessert -- ALL FOR FREE! They treat birthday folks well, I should say. At home afterward, we were all too full to eat the frozen custard cake Susan had bought from Culver's restaurant (the custard flavor is cookies-n-cream).

So I opened gifts instead! I got a card and polo shirt from my dad and stepmom, a Barnes & Noble gift card from my friend, a card from my aunt, a card from my brother-in-law and his family, a card from one of my sisters, and (online) an e-card from the other. My girls gave me cologne and books, three of which (Crossworld, 1776, and Specimen Days) have been on my "must read" list all summer. Before the girls retired for the night, I played a rousing game of Junior Monopoly with them. It was an excellent day, owing in large part to the fun one-gift-per-hour idea. What a great family!

Tomorrow is Abigail's sixth birthday! More on that to come . . .