I had the best, best birthday in a long, long time. I think the last time may have been when I was 4 — when I had two cakes, a table full of food, a house full of guests, and all the best wishes and money and gifts that all who was there had for me.

This year, it was a small affair — a party of two. We started early and ended late, with dinners out during the weekend, spontaneous gifts of an art book and a magazine, and a heck of a great time, where April is charming and beautiful and always right. When Monday came along, I thought my birthday celebration was over (even though my birthday wouldn’t actually happen until Tuesday); I was happy, content, satisfied with the event — even as I worked that Tuesday, I had no reason to lament. Side note: I’m turning into Jesse Jackson today.

Then I drove home, and I found a little gift on my nightstand — a bottle of bubbles for my childish pleasures. Oh, neat! I thought happily, another gift! I settled into my evening with smiles and more happy thoughts — until I was scolded for not making my usual after-commute trip to the bathroom.

“Go pee!” said he.

And so I walked into the echo chamber to find another gift — two DVD movies! My favorite two movies, no less. I was a bundle of joy when I discovered them, and it never even occurred to me how strange a gift it was — especially since I didn’t have a DVD player on which to play them. I giggled and beamed; I read the backs of the boxes. I squealed my thank yous as I dreamed about one day watching them.

So there we were, silent, as he contemplated and I counted my blessings. As I marinated in my bliss, he muttered at the napping cat, “What are you saying? What? What?”

I knew something was afoot.

He walked into the other room, ostensibly to chat with the cat or to better hear what she obviously wasn’t saying, and I crouched, alert, anticipating. Something was afoot!

He came back with a big gift-wrapped box in his arms, muttering about my upbringing and how it has made me think so little of myself that I would be happy with half a gift. Didn’t I know that he wouldn’t be so callous as to give me a single shoe? Didn’t I realize how silly it is to have DVDs and no DVD player? Hello? (Oh, how wonderful — a single shoe! Maybe someday I’ll be able to buy its match and actually wear the both of them, together — thank you! Thank you!)

The box was indeed a DVD player — inexpensive, but not cheap. The perfect match for the other shoe. Finally, I have joined the 21st century. We spent the rest of that night watching one of my favorite movies, with me saying the lines that I knew so well.

It was the maraschino cherry on my birthday weekend — the nicest, longest, bestest (yeah, I know that’s not a word) April 9th I’ve ever had.

I’m still all aglow from it.

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