My birthday festivities, a painting project, and spaghetti pizza for lunch (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

Last weekend, I called and asked my mother whether she’d like to have us come to dinner for my birthday. I haven’t been able to celebrate my birthday with my parents in person in years. My mother made me a cake—hot milk sponge cake with Aunt Alice’s chocolate frosting—and she put two pie birds on the top in honor of our pet finches.

She and my father gave me a sun hat, two shirts, and a beautiful plate with a bee on it. As I was pulling the plate out of the bag, I said, “Oh! Is this my diploma?”

My mother said, “Well, I guess that’s what you really wanted.”

One day I’ll tell you the story of how my college diploma has been stuck in a drawer in my parents’ house for the past 24 years. But not today. Let’s save that for another time.

The gifts were wonderful, the cake was exquisite, and the evening was the perfect way to kick off a wonderful week of festivities.

~2~

We didn’t win the Mega Millions drawing, but we stayed up late Friday night to wait for the numbers to come in.

We knew we wouldn’t win, as my younger son pointed out, but it would be fun to stay up late anyway. And it was. No regrets.

~3~

Our sons have shared a bedroom ever since we moved into our house almost nine years ago. Now that they’re 12 and 14, they’re interested in having a little more space to themselves. So, John is working on getting our third bedroom in shape for our older son.

He’s in the process of painting the room a fresh, lighter color. He and our son went looking at small bookcases yesterday since you can’t have a bedroom without a bookcase.

It’s exciting to have a project happening during these summer months, as we look ahead to the next school year.

~4~

A friend told me about an option to have your rugs picked up and cleaned and delivered back to you about a week later. I reached out to the company, and they came this week and took our rugs with a promise to bring them back in 7-10 days.

I thought it would be a wonderful way to inspire me to give the house a good cleaning, but apparently, even at 46 years old, nothing inspires me to clean—unless it’s company coming. And we’re finding that maybe we don’t miss the rugs and we sort of like bare floors.

My theory is that that’s because it’s July and not December, when the floors would be cold. But this is an unexpected twist in my rug cleaning story.

~5~

The other night we had a storm. Afterward, when I went outside to run an errand, the sky was stunning.

The clouds were all lit up with extraordinary light, and I was mesmerized by the beauty of the sky.

Sometimes it seems like God is showing off, but more often I feel like He’s saying, “You’ve been typing and loading the dishwasher and doing a thousand other things. Stop for a minute and just remember that I love you.”

~6~

My birthday is on the Feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne, and I was thrilled to get to Mass that morning. When I was born that day, my parents thought about naming me Anne instead of Rita—my grandmother’s name—and I’ve always felt a connection to St. Anne. I picked her as my confirmation saint.

It occurred to me that I don’t know much about St. Joachim. I sort of remembered that an angel told him that he and St. Anne would become parents, even though they were older. I didn’t know that he is typically portrayed wearing green, the color of hope, and sometimes he is carrying a basket of doves as a symbol of peace. If I am ever a saint, I assume that I will be pictured with finches, probably with my hair full of birdseed they’ve thrown out of their cages.

At Mass that morning, I prayed with gratitude for my family, my friends, and all of the people I’ve met through my writing. Thank you for joining me in this space.

~7~

Speaking of Anne, my friend Annie and I met for a late birthday spaghetti pizza lunch, and we had the most wonderful time. This week has been full of seeing and hearing from family and friends, and I’ve been so excited to connect with people I love.

Annie had picked up some special homemade soaps for me on her trip to Puerto Rico, and she also presented me with a Mr. Trash Wheel pin. She is one of those people who listens and pays attention and notices what people like.

Annie is such a great friend. We met in college, though we are both from Baltimore, and I can’t believe we have been friends for even longer than my diploma has been stuck in that drawer at my parents’ house.

But, as I say, that’s a story for another day.

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