Well, I’m having a delightful day so far, even though I have mostly busied myself with doing laundry and tidying up the Tie Room. I decided to forego the maple doughnut I was going to buy to celebrate myself this morning. I’m saving my Lent-breaking taste-buds for birthday dessert tonight at dinner with Suzanne. So it’s just been me and Skitter and this polka dot Tie o’ the Day.
Before Suzanne went to work this morning, she sang me a very high-pitched and wobbly version of “Happy Birthday.” It was faux operatic and just the kind of thing which brings me maximum joy. After Suzanne warbled the first couple of lines, Skitter did something she has never done since she’s been living in our home: she howled right along with Suzanne’s singing until the warbling finally ended. It was as if they’d been practicing together for weeks. I so wish I had been recording the hilarious duet. Now, I can heretofore refer to Suzanne’s singing of “Happy Birthday” as howl-inducing. Indeed, before the ditty was over, I was howling along with the song too. I can already see the howl-along becoming a new family birthday tradition.
I called Mom for my birthday, too. I do it every time I officially grow a year older. Today, I thanked her for giving birth to me at 4:10 A.M. on this date, 58 years ago. She was a bit stunned to think her baby is that close to being 60—as am I. I still feel like her baby, no matter how old I get. She told me she was 88. I gently reminded her she’s 91, to which she said, “Helfry! I guess I am old enough to have a baby as old as you.” (This is where I remind y’all that the word “helfry”—pronounced like the word “belfry,” as in “bats in the belfry”—is one of Mom’s cleaned-up, made-up swear words. I had the word tattooed on my back over a decade ago, in her honor.) Mom and I had a lengthy, laughter-filled phone chat, and she seemed to have a lot of pep today. I hope she remembers my call. But if she doesn’t, I’ll remember it for her. I love my tiny Big Helen. She was my first blessing. I’m her old baby, and I’m forever proud to belong to her.❣️
