Not Worthy On Our Birthday

I just wanted to mention that we are not worthy of our children, but you knew that. They went out of their way and made these incredible birthday presents for us, and it's clear that they put a lot of time and effort into them. They really worked hard, and we cannot adequately express how much we appreciate it.

First off, I think a birthday tradition that I'd like to maintain on our birthday is eating a hot fudge sundae, with real hot fudge, which I was able to pull off at Ben and Jerry's. True, that place kind of depresses me because it's so Disneyland. Plus, it's a glaring reminder of the health problems in this country, which kind of puts damper on ice cream enjoyment, but maybe that's not a bad thing. You can't have your cake and eat it, too, right? That goes for ice cream, as well. Now being the whiny curmudgeon that I am, I would also like to point out that I tend to prefer vanilla ice cream with my sundaes, but since we were at B&J, I couldn't get vanilla, and opted for Chocolate Therapy. It was amazing, but chocolate ice cream seems to mask the flavor of the fudge a bit. Vanilla works much better. Also, not that I'm complaining, but when you get sundaes at places like B&J, then tend to put them in cups that are little too small, so you never get enough hot fudge because it starts to spill over the side. Also, they didn't have maraschino cherries. Okay, I've whined enough, it was a great sundae, and we all got to enjoy it.

We also went out for dinner on our birthday, and chose the restaurant in the hotel. The food that we had in Stowe was really good, but not mind boggling. I have to confess that the burger I got was good, but a little on the small side, and not that life altering. I think I've had better burgers at Stella's, and most definitely at In and Out Burger, but don't get me started.

Anyway, the whole point is that after supper, we went back to our rooms and opened the kid's gifts. They really did an amazing job, and I can't begin to tell you how much of a kick we get out of their efforts. First off, they made these lovely cards that were too cool for words. I always seem to get the peace signs, in homage to my days of following the Dead.

The kids also made these boxes out of paper and inside were little presents for R and I. R got little bracelets with nice messages on them. They were made of pipe cleaners, and they were really cute. I got personalized hair wraps with cool messages like "Dad Rocks" and other factual information on them. They were very nicely done.

Another birthday tradition in honor of my Mentor is that the kids always made little hot air balloons for each of us. They are really cool, and I'm sure my Mentor would be impressed with the attention to detail.

Finally, the piece de resistance was the little ski scene that they made with paper and pipe cleaners. That's a chairlift in the background. They even got the details of our hair and our ski outfits right - I have a red jacket and R has a bluish/green one. Too much. The kids did a great job, and once again, I felt unworthy to be their parent, but I'm still trying.

All in all, we had a great birthday, and got some of the best presents a parent can get in this world, namely the love and attention of their kids. You can't ask for much more than that.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.