(I am still learning about positioning images.)
Here is one of the traditional ones from Dad:
I don't know if everyone knows why I always get roses and pumpkins for my birthday, so let me tell the story of my first married birthday.
You see, I was lucky to fall in love with someone whose birthday was the same date as my own--the 15th--and I even scheduled our wedding for the same date. There was a good reason for this effort. I married someone with a TERRIBLE memory. (I have proof that he used to write notes to himself up at CalTech so he wouldn't forget that we had a date!)
Anyway, we didn't have a lot of extra money and all of it was carefully budgeted each month. On a beautiful Saturday in October (the 6th, to be exact), Ed was acting really strange. He said he had to run some errands and would be gone a while. That was completely out of character because Saturdays were our days together to play. But off he went alone, and when he returned we drove over to his parents' house to celebrate Ken's birthday with dinner and presents.
When we finally got home, it was late. We came upstairs to our little apartment, and then he said he had to go back to the car (our beautiful little blue VW bug, Bismarck). I was in the bedroom when he came in with a couple of shopping bags, a big grin, and "Happy Birthday!" All I could do was sit on the bed and say, in shock, "But it's not my birthday. It's Ken's."
He was stunned, and so disappointed. He had planned and sneaked around and was so proud of his surprise. All he could do when he found his voice again was to say, "Oh. Well, I guess you might as well open these now anyway." He had gone back to Pasadena from Westwood where we lived (about 20 miles?) to pick out a set of olive green Corning Ware pans (I still use one of them!) and a very pretty slip.
By the time my real birthday came, he had no more budget for shopping, so he brought me a single rose and a funny pumpkin. Ever since, those have been my presents. Sometimes there are more roses, and sometimes the pumpkins are huge or tiny or really ugly--but that is what always appears on the table when I get up in the morning. And he has never again gotten confused.
I love him.
2 comments:
I loved the roses and pumpkin story. I don't think I've heard that before. Good tradition.
You know, I remember that story every year. I remember one VERY large pumpkin one year that had bear ears and a snout.
Post a Comment