A Day of Deliverance - Part One

Some 33 years ago today, in a balmy St. George Utah, I was born. Yes, today's title is and was a "day of deliverance"... I wasn't feeling too terribly old until last night my mother reminds me that I am now "middle-aged". And then, upon some reflection, remembered that when my own mother was 33, she was just about to deliver my youngest sister....and this would be her 7th child!! Now, I'm feeling old....
Kim took me out on Saturday for a birthday celebration - we got up at the crack of dawn and went golfing...Now, anyone who knows me, knows that golfing has been a source of contention between us for some years. For many, many of the years that we have been married, Kim has had golfing as his "out". I haven't had an "out". But, in the last couple of years, I have made it a priority for myself to create my own "out". Once a month I spend a Friday night scrapbooking with some good friends of mine. We go out to dinner, laugh a lot and scrapbook very little. I look forward to it all month long. Well, when we moved into our new neighborhood we met a very cute family that lives just up the street. We really enjoy hanging out with them and they have kids about the same ages as ours. Here's the catch: he golfs, and SHE golfs!! So, somehow, Jen has convinced me that I should try it - Upon pondering this concept, I came up with this: If I can't beat him (and it's very clear that I can't), join him. Although I will not take it up as my main source of fun and play, I decided that now that we have Abby old enough to watch the kids for awhile, I will, on occasion, go out to play golf with Kim. So, Saturday morning, bright and early, I swung a golf club more than once since 1993 when I had to play in PE in high school. I stunk at it, but it was enjoyable. My guess is that Kim enjoyed seeing me cave to his side more than anything.
After a rousing and frustrating game of early morning golf, we went to breakfast. IHOP to be exact. I can't remember the last time we went out to breakfast. It too was quite enjoyable. Then we began our day. Another birthday gift I gave to myself this year was: drumroll please....a full detail on my van! I don't mean a wash and wax, either! I dropped it off on Saturday morning and by 6:00 that evening I had a brand spanking new (looking) Honda Odessey!! They cleaned the carpets, cleaned the leather seats, vacuumed all the Captain Crunch cereal and got 4 pieces of gum off the floor mats! It looks and smells divine!! Happy Birthday to Me!! After we picked up the van, we ventured to PF Changs for dinner. It is such good food, but a little on the spendy side so we rarely go there. We ordered our food, feeling a little guilty, but ordered what we wanted anyway. I ordered this chicken dish and when I took a large bite of it, the center of the chicken was still raw. YUCK! So, the manager came over and gave us our entire meal for free! Happy Birthday to Me! This was an appetizer, meal and dessert! So, we had a nice evening out, in a clean car and movies on the couch with the divine dessert that they provided us.
Today, being my actual birthday, has turned out nice so far also. The best gift of all was sending my 3 older kids off to their first day of school (see A Day of Deliverance - Part Two) and then going to lunch with my friend Judy. When the kids get home, I'm off to buy myself a cheesecake at Costco and then the day will be complete! Kim was asking me what I wanted for my birthday and I really think that I couldn't have asked for too much more. I had a date with my husband, a clean car and a cheesecake...who needs more than that? Okay, a trip to Hawaii would be nice...