I had to write this story down because it has already been 4 months and the details are getting fuzzy.
I turned 29 this year! Only one more year in my 20s. It’s so bitter sweet. I don’t mind the idea of turning 30 next year but my only problem is I still feel like I should have only 19 candles on my cake. I’m 10 years older than I feel.
Anyways, my birthday started out like a typical day. Jeremiah got ready for work and I made breakfast for the kids. We have a tradition of making chocolate chip waffles for breakfast on birthday. Jeremiah needed a ride to work so I packed the kids in the car and jumped in the driver seat still wearing my pj’s. After saying goodbye we drove back home and as soon as I pulled into the driveway I realized that I didn’t have my house key!!! I was locked out of my house, in my pajamas, on my birthday!!! But I am always prepared for just such an emergency. See, we weren’t completely locked out.The back door was left unlocked but since we have a dog that likes to scratch and dig his way out of the back fence I had it blocked well enough that I didn’t know how I was going to get through.
Should I jump over? Could I even get my chubby, weak self over that 6 foot fence? nope. So I carefully, tediously moved that boards, buckets, and rocks that blocked in the fence and was finally able to get into the back yard. Victory!!
I got the kids inside and changed out of my pajamas that had gotten dusty and dirty from sitting on the ground reaching my hand under the fence. I even had the privilege of actually getting ready that day. Not just the 5 minute slap on some mascara and throw my hair in a bun routine. I actually got out my flat iron and straightened my thick, curly, red hair, and I spent some time putting on more that just mascara so I would feel cute on my 29th birthday. I dressed up semi-casually in my new white skinny jeans and flowing blue tunic. Then I took my cute little self back to the kitchen and did the dishes, and cleaned up breakfast.
After Mason woke up from his nap we decided to go get some lunch so I wouldn’t have to cook. I got outvoted by Ryan who chose McDonalds over a classy restaurant like Red Lobster, but I didn’t complain. I was elated at the thought of the kids playing in the Playplace while I enjoyed a quiet lunch of chicken nuggets, fries, and Dr. Pepper. Of course I would be sharing my french fries with my little sunshine baby and I was ok with that too. So off we went.
We arrived at Mickey D’s and ordered our Chicken nuggets and happy meal and my much anticipated Dr. Pepper and with a baby in one hand and a high chair in the other I corralled the kids to the back of the McDonald’s only to find to my utter disappointment that the play place was CLOSED!!!! I stared at the silver chain and little white sign blocking me from my peaceful birthday lunch. It said “Playplace closed for floor repair.” I turned around and sullenly sat down and explained to my eager little Ryan that they wouldn’t be allowed to play today. Ryan broke down into tears. He asked me over and over again “Why can’t I play, mom?”
We did end up having a pleasant lunch though. They are the cutest dates I could ask for. When we were done we refilled our soda cups and piled back into our SUV to go home. Only we didn’t make it very far. Our gas gauge on our SUV has been broken for a couple of years now and we haven’t had it fixed because #1 it is expensive and #2 we keep track of the mileage so we know when we need to gas up. We were getting close to the mile point where I normally fill up the tank and I had a strange feeling that day that I should stop for gas before McDonald’s. I should trust my intuition. We ran out of gas only a 1 1/2 miles from McDonald’s. It was 103 degrees outside and I was wearing flip flops. Luckily we still had drinks left over from lunch.
I called Jeremiah 4 times with no answer so I started calling my backups. Karissa, no. Cabrena, no. By this time we were walking down the road in route to the closest gas station that I knew was about 3/4 mile down the road. One hand holding Mason, one hand holding Ryan’s hand. I had to practically drag Ryan along because he could not understand why we were leaving our car behind and walking down the sidewalk. I finally got Jeremiah on the phone and he told me he would come rescue me so I wouldn’t have to walk back to my car in the heat. It took him some time to get away from work so we got to know the 3 isles in the Diamond Shamrock very very well. We got the kids another drink to share and we waited another 20 minutes for Jeremiah.
As you can guess, he showed up and saved the day! My hero!
He gassed up my car JUST in time for me to buckle the boys back in and go pick Simon up from school.
For the life of me I can’t rememeber what happened the rest of the day. I think we went to Swan Thai for dinner. The good news is that after my super hero saved me my luck changed and my day went really well! But this birthday will infamously go down in history as my Bad Luck Birthday. I’m hoping 30 will bring more luck.
