Yup, I'm 41.

I had my 41st birthday last week. What a day! First off, I had to pretend it WASN'T my birthday, which was kinda hard at first, but I got the hang of it by the end. Birthdays for me are all about maintaining realistic expectations and coming to appreciate the life I'm living right now. When I keep that perspective, my birthdays are really quite satisfying.

It started with James making me a fruit smoothie for breakfast. He had a big plan, made a big mess, and drank more of the smoothie than I did while I was getting everyone else their breakfasts, but that was okay. It's not like it was my birthday or anything. I got to see James get excited about making food and learning something new ans serving his family. That was pretty cool.

Then, like every Thursday morning, I went to the farm. We harvested a bunch of stuff: scallions, sweet peppers, tomatillos, and three kinds of basil. I learned about cut-and-come-again scallions, which is BRILLIANT! You grow the scallions (green onions) like usual, but instead of pulling up the whole plant when you want scallions, just cut them off right at the soil line. They'll grow back! That's 2-3 harvests from a single seed!! I love learning at the farm.

After the farm, it was a long, unscheduled day with lots of time doing the things I love with people I love. I ran a bunch of errands with James and Matthew. They were good sports about wearing masks and following directions. I had to get tested for Covid-19, too, and they cheerfully volunteered for nasal swabs as well. Matthew sneezed six times after that sample was taken! 

I pulled weeds in the front yard, built a bike ramp for James to ride over, coerced him to try Robert's larger bike (which he loved!) and went for a ride with all three boys. Matthew was in the trailer behind me and Robert and James rode on their older siblings' bikes. They felt so fast and free and tall. Their excitement reminded me of how I felt on my first test drive of a real road bike from a real bike shop. It was like flying. I had never gone so fast with so little effort before. I do enjoy a good ride with my kids.

Later in the afternoon, James and Matthew went to Erin's house, so I had some time to hang out with just the older kids. Alice and I hung out on the back porch talking, playing video games, and eating candy. She convinced me to buy her a Studio C t-shirt and a BYU t-shirt. She is so, so, so excited to get them this week.

For dinner, we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. It's not my ideal dinner, but I like it every once in a while and it makes a lot of other people in my family happy. Instead of birthday cake, we put a candle in some Luigi's Lemon Ice and ate it out on the back porch. 

I've come to love my back porch this summer. In the afternoon, about 2 or 3 pm, shade reaches the swinging bench and it's a lovely place to watch the outdoors. By 5:30 or so, the concrete is all shaded and cool again. All I hear is birds and wind and the occasional car or airplane. Even on really hot days, it's a refreshing break from the indoors. 

After dinner, I walked to Erin's house for a guitar lesson with her and our teacher over Zoom. I stayed afterwards to chat. Erin sees my kids often enough to know them very, very well. She's an empathetic ear, someone I can be honest with, and she has really good ideas. 

Then I spent the rest of the evening with Bobby, watching some of our favorite shows together. 

It was a satisfying day. Normal and special in its own way.