Tuesday, July 10, 2012

PD#2 - Dalton

Every person has what I am sure they consider to be their best days. I categorize mine as PD's, Perfect Days. To get the rating of a PD it has to be a perfect day, in every way, from sunup to sundown. I have had a total of 7.  Now, in a 365 day year, I have about 350 near perfect days, but I have only had 7 true PD's.  Each has a name, and each is embedded in my memory. There is Austin, Dalton, Seattle, Alaska, Beijing and Cupcakes & Wool Festival. These are how I remember them....today though, we shall talk about Dalton.

PD #2 was July 11, 1991 - the day Dalton was born.  Oh, it was a special day. Not only was I going to get to meet my son, but there was a total solar eclipse that day.  I remember waking (after my c-section) and looking outside. It was rather grey and dark. I said, "Oh my gosh, I missed the entire first day of his life!"  

The nurse came over to the bed and said, "Oh no you haven't, it's only 11:00 am." She then went on to tell me about the eclipse. Everyone at the hospital came in to see Dalton, I can still hear all of them whispering how cool he was going to be because he was born on the eclipse.  Personally, I don't place any value, on the moon and stars and signs and eclipses, I knew he was going to be special just because he was.

Dalton was very calm and quite as a child, something he has reverted back into as an adult.  He had a good disposition and would usually just stare at me like I was crazy and he was trying to figure me out. I am not sure he has reached that point yet, but I think he has given up hope of that ever happening.

Dalton, or Mud, as the family refers to him, grew quickly.  He is smart and fun and was always curious.  He has overcome many trials in his life, all because I know God has has His protective hand on him.  He was healed of cancer at 18 months, he has survived (unscathed) 3 major car accidents. One a roll over, and another was a head on collision.  He has been blessed with humor (we questioned if he would ever have any, for about 10 years), charm, dedication, intelligence and dashing good looks.

I was recounting my children's birthdays with my friend today.  When the boys were young I celebrated birthdays in unimaginable ways.  Planning for a birthday was one of my greatest joys. I remember when they had their bunk beds, I would fill hundreds of ballons the night before and cover their floor with balloons.  They would last for weeks, and one by one they would get popped! We had theme parties and friends, pizza and cookouts.  We rented a gynormous bounce house several times. They would then have 4 friends spend the night and would sleep in the bounce house.  At their request, Jim would don his scary mask and scare the beejeebee's out of them sometime during the night.  We would also turn the fan off when they fell asleep and the bounce house would quickly deflate. Only when they were all in a heap, in the rubber and netting, then we would re-inflate and they would start jumping in their sleeping bags.

Every birthday morning, if we were in the country, we would go to a local place called Michaels Kitchen.  They make hot chocolate there that the boys always loved.  The whipped cream on it was about 4" high.  I would whip a bottle of birthday sprinkles out of my purse and shake them on the whipped cream to start our celebration day.  Remarkably, I did that until they were 18 :0) They are softies for tradition!

Dalton has been able to spend his birthday in many different countries. I remember his 7th birthday was up on the tundra in Canada.  We did a canoe trip, just the 4 of us and a guide.  I had informed her it would be his birthday and she baked him a chocolate cake over the campfire, complete with gummy worms. Once, on his was to Australia, the pilot announced it was his 12th birthday, at exactly midnight.  In crossing time zones his birthday lasted a very, very short time.  Last year we were at the Renaissance Faire, and there have been many other places in between.

Tomorrow I head to Albuquerque to have a birthday day with Dalton.  He's taking some intense summer college courses and can't come home.  I will leave early to get to the cupcake factory and get a red velvet cupcake before they sell out.  We are going to go order a beer in the Irish Pub he normally couldn't go into without mom (you had to be 21, even to eat there). We will go to a microbrewery downtown and have lunch and a good IPA. 


I will unload a few bags of specialty birthday groceries and homemade goodies. He loves gourmet foods so he is getting proscuitto and melon, rosemary bread and imported salami. There are canned figs with lemon and a wheel of brie.  I am making Cream of Wild Mushroom soup, and sun dried tomatoes.  There is curry, and skittles, and homemade BBQ sauce and the fixings for a BBQ Chicken  pizza. It will be a wonderful day, then I will get in my car and head home - and he will have a birthday night with his brother and friends.

I am grateful they are so close to home, only 120 miles away.  I am also grateful that when I call and ask to spend their birthday with them, they still say yes.  I'm also grateful, beyond belief, that God gave me two of the most amazing kids on the planet, it's just one more way I know He loves me! 

So, Happy Birthday Mud! I hope tomorrow is your PD#1!!! (and I know the Irish beer has a creamy head on it, perhaps I shall throw the sprinkles in my purse!)

1 comment:

  1. a solar eclipse...how cool is that!!!! I now carry portable sprinkles with me ever since you first told me that story about Michael's Kitchen and the whipped cream last year...I hope his day was awesome -

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