9/11 Birthday

I have joked with many folks that I'm gonna change my birthday, since every year on September 11, Americans have sad reminders of the tragic events that happened back on that fateful day.  Although I did not lose any loved ones in the chaos of that day, I do understand that grief does not just go away.  I hear that it fades over time, but remembering helps many in the process of healing.

So my birthday each year is both happy and sad.

However, so far my day today has been quite pleasant, relaxing, and low key.

I started by washing some dishes and straightening up around the house.

That was followed by a bit of laundry sorting, washing, and folding.

Next I sat down with a good steaming cup of coffee, opened some very nice birthday cards, and paid some not-so-very-nice bills.

I periodically checked on the progress made by our work crew out back.  They are replacing the siding on several walls of our house, and rebuilding the stuff around the windows, too.  Removing all the old siding and preparing the walls for the new, along with reworking the windows has taken the last eight work days so far.  The guys tell me that tomorrow I will start to see new siding going up.

I will hardly know how to act once there are no work crews and their equipment anywhere on our property.  

Maybe our grass will start to grow again.

After that I made an errand run to the bank and to the pharmacy to refill some prescriptions.  Although these chores may be of the every day variety, they are also of the getting-ready-to-go-on-vacation-in-two-days type.  

Yes!  In only two days the hubby and I will take off for five nights of camping followed immediately by a trip to the New Jersey beach for four nights.  A weekend and a week of blissful relaxing and a bit of sightseeing, too.  

We've been getting the fifth wheel ready.  It had to be un-winterized, believe it or not.  Since I couldn't walk much of the summer, and couldn't navigate its steps, this will be our first outing with it.  We are reloading the stuff we take out before each winter, filling the propane tanks, replacing paper items, etc.

And we are so excited for vacation we could almost piddle ourselves.  Add to that a gorgeous weather forecast for the next week, and all systems are go.

But I digress from my birthday doings.  I spent some time primping, you know all that girly stuff that ladies do, because I am looking forward to this tonight:

The in-laws are taking us out tonight for my birthday to Red Lobster, where we will be enjoying their yearly Endless Shrimp Fest.  Yeeha!  I love shrimp and I am drooling now at the thought of some of that buttery garlicy shrimp scampi.  

So yes, it's been a good day.  

Another year older, another year wiser  of learning how much I still have to learn.