I haven't been looking forward to my birthday this year. This is the year of the firsts and I didn't want this one any more than I want any of them. The week before my birthday week, I was struggling. My dad was 85 this year and I was about to be 45... somehow these numbers made me feel it would be even harder by being even easier to remember in years to come.
Don't get me wrong. There were moments when I was thinking it would all be fine and I'd have a good day. So, I struggled mainly between thinking I wanted to pretend my birthday wasn't happening and looking forward to hearing from friends and family. Facebook really doesn't allow for pretending it's not happening. ;) I talked to a friend about it and just voicing my thoughts made it seem a little more ok.
Then, my birthday week came. Monday... just like any other Monday. Off to work and then stopping at the gas station. I hadn't needed gas for weeks and I was on empty. I stopped at the pump and put the number in to get my discount. We rarely used it so it was more than usual. And, there it was! My first miracle of the week! My gas was 97 cents! Yep! Seriously! When was the last time I paid .97?!
Now, you may not know this, but my dad and I regularly discussed gas prices. He got a higher discount on weekends at his favorite gas station so he often insisted I get gas there because he didn't need gas and wanted to give me his discount that weekend. We compared Indiana to Illinois prices, especially after the recent Illinois gas tax increase. And, I'm pretty sure it would take a miracle for me to get gas that cheap. He obviously pulled a few strings up there! At least, I'd like to think this was my dad's way of telling me happy birthday!
But, it still wouldn't be the same. I mean, I haven't seen my mom and sister and her family for 2 months, which has been hard enough. I got so used to seeing them every weekend and then we had to rely on facebook calling. It's just not the same. So, not seeing them for my birthday was making a bad situation worse. But, I know the most important thing is keeping family safe from the virus. I get it and have been completely willing to wait.
Then came the perfect storm. Well, that's a bad way to put it. But, a continuous downpour along with plumbing issues on an old house equals just about one of the only reasons I would head to Illinois during this time. The basement flooded and water filled the basement with water reaching the top of the bottom step. This basement holds an accumulation from generations of family, both treasures and otherwise. So, my sister did all the research and calling to get things taken care of.. plumbers, water restoraton company, dumpster, and even shelving units and bins ordered, all taken care of within the day. By that night, I was headed to Illinois to get started on the big job of THE BASEMENT! It happened to be the night before my birthday.
What I didn't know until shortly before I arrived was that my sister had planned to surprise me with a socially distant gift of dnuts from my favorite donut place! Instead, I got to have them fresh for breakfast on my birthday!
When I started looking at everything in the basement, I found some treasures I had no idea were don there. I had not seen my high school jacket since shortly after I graduated from high school and moved. I had wondered where it went and had looked for it. But, there it was in plain sight. I'd just never noticed before.
My grandma and I were extremely close. I knew some of her things were down there and it was a blessing to go through them and relive the memories we shared. I was grabbing some of the kitchen utensils and I jumped. Now, the basement is not pretty. Bugs, and other things obviously had made their homes there at some point. But, I had been lucky so far and not seen anything other than a huge centipede looking thing (ugh!), until I saw the biggest fly ever on the kitchen things. So, I jumped and dropped the spoon. But, the fly never moved. With my gloved hand, I tried to get it to go away but it was stuck. And, then I heard my grandma laughing... and laughing... and laughing! I used to love when my grandma got the giggles because she couldn't stop and it was contagious and everyone would end up laughing. And, I knew that was happening up in heaven right then! My grandma had a spoon that looked like it had a fly landing on it and loved to think about what would happen if she played a joke on someone. I don't remember her ever doing it, but I distinctly remember her talking about it an getting the giggles. Thank you grandma! You always knew what I needed, even when I didn't!
Throughout the day, I received greetings of love and happiness from friends and family, both on facebook and texts, calls, and cards. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life!
I spent my time in the basement and tried to stay socially distant from my mom. Luckily, a good friend had given me some masks to wear and I made sure I had one on. It was just good to see her and be in the house with her. I also got to spend time talking with my sister, going through treasures and sharing memories. It was the best way I could spend the day, seeing things from my childhood, seeing things I'd forgotten about, and learning things by going through things I hadn't seen before. I also got to spend time with my brother-in-law and nieces and nephew.
I had to work so I left early in the afternoon. Some would be sad to have to work on their birthday, but it was actually the thing I was most looking forward to the previous week when I was struggling. It always brings me joy to spend time with such awesome people! I arrived home to see a beautiful bouquet of flowers that had been delivered from my wonderful husband who had been so understanding throughout the whole time. I couldn't ask for anything better than that!
Then, I saw a gift bag filled with homemade cookies and a gift card for Culver's! My wonderful friends know me so well!
After work, another friend had asked me to stop by so she could give me something. I arrived to be greeted by the best birthday card ever! My former foster puppy came out with a happy birthday sign around his neck, the cutest thing ever! Following him was a dinosaur, aka my friend's husband, and then her daughter gave me a bag of goodies. I was just so happy to see them and be able to socially distantly talk to them! I arrived home to find out there were not only homemade cupcakes but cards the kids made and hair products! Originally, I was supposed to get my hair done on my birthday, but this was the next best thing!
Never would I have expected any of the adventures throughout my birthday week. But, tonight I am feeling grateful for each one of the people who made it special. I don't know where I would be without them.
So, where was God this week? He was in the people who made me feel loved, in the little miracles all around me, and in the unexpected surprises I got for my birthday!
Blessings,
Jennifer
Don't get me wrong. There were moments when I was thinking it would all be fine and I'd have a good day. So, I struggled mainly between thinking I wanted to pretend my birthday wasn't happening and looking forward to hearing from friends and family. Facebook really doesn't allow for pretending it's not happening. ;) I talked to a friend about it and just voicing my thoughts made it seem a little more ok.
Then, my birthday week came. Monday... just like any other Monday. Off to work and then stopping at the gas station. I hadn't needed gas for weeks and I was on empty. I stopped at the pump and put the number in to get my discount. We rarely used it so it was more than usual. And, there it was! My first miracle of the week! My gas was 97 cents! Yep! Seriously! When was the last time I paid .97?!
Now, you may not know this, but my dad and I regularly discussed gas prices. He got a higher discount on weekends at his favorite gas station so he often insisted I get gas there because he didn't need gas and wanted to give me his discount that weekend. We compared Indiana to Illinois prices, especially after the recent Illinois gas tax increase. And, I'm pretty sure it would take a miracle for me to get gas that cheap. He obviously pulled a few strings up there! At least, I'd like to think this was my dad's way of telling me happy birthday!
But, it still wouldn't be the same. I mean, I haven't seen my mom and sister and her family for 2 months, which has been hard enough. I got so used to seeing them every weekend and then we had to rely on facebook calling. It's just not the same. So, not seeing them for my birthday was making a bad situation worse. But, I know the most important thing is keeping family safe from the virus. I get it and have been completely willing to wait.
Then came the perfect storm. Well, that's a bad way to put it. But, a continuous downpour along with plumbing issues on an old house equals just about one of the only reasons I would head to Illinois during this time. The basement flooded and water filled the basement with water reaching the top of the bottom step. This basement holds an accumulation from generations of family, both treasures and otherwise. So, my sister did all the research and calling to get things taken care of.. plumbers, water restoraton company, dumpster, and even shelving units and bins ordered, all taken care of within the day. By that night, I was headed to Illinois to get started on the big job of THE BASEMENT! It happened to be the night before my birthday.
What I didn't know until shortly before I arrived was that my sister had planned to surprise me with a socially distant gift of dnuts from my favorite donut place! Instead, I got to have them fresh for breakfast on my birthday!
When I started looking at everything in the basement, I found some treasures I had no idea were don there. I had not seen my high school jacket since shortly after I graduated from high school and moved. I had wondered where it went and had looked for it. But, there it was in plain sight. I'd just never noticed before.
My grandma and I were extremely close. I knew some of her things were down there and it was a blessing to go through them and relive the memories we shared. I was grabbing some of the kitchen utensils and I jumped. Now, the basement is not pretty. Bugs, and other things obviously had made their homes there at some point. But, I had been lucky so far and not seen anything other than a huge centipede looking thing (ugh!), until I saw the biggest fly ever on the kitchen things. So, I jumped and dropped the spoon. But, the fly never moved. With my gloved hand, I tried to get it to go away but it was stuck. And, then I heard my grandma laughing... and laughing... and laughing! I used to love when my grandma got the giggles because she couldn't stop and it was contagious and everyone would end up laughing. And, I knew that was happening up in heaven right then! My grandma had a spoon that looked like it had a fly landing on it and loved to think about what would happen if she played a joke on someone. I don't remember her ever doing it, but I distinctly remember her talking about it an getting the giggles. Thank you grandma! You always knew what I needed, even when I didn't!
Throughout the day, I received greetings of love and happiness from friends and family, both on facebook and texts, calls, and cards. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life!
I spent my time in the basement and tried to stay socially distant from my mom. Luckily, a good friend had given me some masks to wear and I made sure I had one on. It was just good to see her and be in the house with her. I also got to spend time talking with my sister, going through treasures and sharing memories. It was the best way I could spend the day, seeing things from my childhood, seeing things I'd forgotten about, and learning things by going through things I hadn't seen before. I also got to spend time with my brother-in-law and nieces and nephew.
I had to work so I left early in the afternoon. Some would be sad to have to work on their birthday, but it was actually the thing I was most looking forward to the previous week when I was struggling. It always brings me joy to spend time with such awesome people! I arrived home to see a beautiful bouquet of flowers that had been delivered from my wonderful husband who had been so understanding throughout the whole time. I couldn't ask for anything better than that!
Then, I saw a gift bag filled with homemade cookies and a gift card for Culver's! My wonderful friends know me so well!
After work, another friend had asked me to stop by so she could give me something. I arrived to be greeted by the best birthday card ever! My former foster puppy came out with a happy birthday sign around his neck, the cutest thing ever! Following him was a dinosaur, aka my friend's husband, and then her daughter gave me a bag of goodies. I was just so happy to see them and be able to socially distantly talk to them! I arrived home to find out there were not only homemade cupcakes but cards the kids made and hair products! Originally, I was supposed to get my hair done on my birthday, but this was the next best thing!
Never would I have expected any of the adventures throughout my birthday week. But, tonight I am feeling grateful for each one of the people who made it special. I don't know where I would be without them.
So, where was God this week? He was in the people who made me feel loved, in the little miracles all around me, and in the unexpected surprises I got for my birthday!
Blessings,
Jennifer
No comments:
Post a Comment