when it rains...(m)

My birthday begins with an auspicious start....Daylight Savings Time.  The activity in the house suggests it is later than my unchanged clock said it is.  Get up and take a long look in the mirror.  Some signs of weight loss progress offset by some signs of aging.  The wrinkles on my neck are still there.  They look like crepe paper.

Go downstairs in the kitchen and Harrison has put up decorations.  We do this for everyone's birthday...only now, we've lost some letters and the sign reads "Happy birth."  Have a Fiber One yogurt for breakfast and start to pack for our trip to Florida and for Harrison's trip to Turkey with his Latin class.

My brother J calls.  He and my sister-in-law would like to bring dinner to us for my birthday.  We set a time that's convenient for my mother.  Five p.m.  We will eat dinner at five p.m.

Finish packing (separate story) and I set the table for dinner.  Is anyone getting a cake?  "We thought you couldn't eat cake!" they say.  "I have to blow out candles on my birthday," I say.  My mother says to stick some candles in  a baked sweet potato.  For God's sake.  I go out to buy a cake.

Get to the bakery and chose a beautiful chocolate fudge cake with white buttercream frosting.  "What would you like inscribed upon the cake?" the baker asks.  Ah, ah, "Happy Birthday, M!" I say.  He doesn't know I'm buying the cake for myself.  Until I present the credit card.  He looks at the card, looks at me and says "Happy Birthday, M".  Really,  I felt like such a loser. 

Get home with the cake.  Tell my brother and sister-in-law about the baker and my brother says, "He probably thinks you are going home and lining your dolls around the table and having a little party with them."

We eat Chinese food (I planned the points...started with Hot and Sour soup, then brown rice then chicken with broccoli).  The phone rings: it's my other brother, Phil.  My nephew (Phil's son) picks up the phone and you can tell the conversation is serious.  There's some bad news.

Phil's basement is flooded.  5 feet of water.  He needs all hands on deck to help him salvage furniture.  We pack the car with sump pumps, wet vacs, hurricane lamps and send it over to his house with a group.  They refuse to let me go because it is my birthday.

Two hours later, Phil's entire family (including the new puppy, Charlie) are in my house since they have no electricity or heat.  They will be here for a week which is fine with me.

Phil looks like he's aged 10 years.  His back is killing him from all the lifting in the basement.  He takes a hot shower and a steam and puts on Sam's bathrobe.  The rest of us are helping to wash and dry their wet clothes.  We all sit in the living room and look at family albums and laugh.

At 10 p.m. I ask who wants some leftover birthday cake.  They look at me:  "Your birthday!!!!"

In all the excitement, it got a little lost.

I don't care.  I'm glad they are here.  Harrison and I love when the house is full.  We just need Sam and it would be complete.

I have half a piece of birthday cake.  It looks better than it tastes.