"There's A Girl In Texas"

"There's A Girl in Texas" who is, by almost any definition, really special.  She has been special since the moment she was born.  She is our family's pride and joy and Sunday, April 8, she turned 11 years old.  Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

This special girl is, of course, our double miracle girl, the light of our lives, our granddaughter,  Maddie-the-Great.   Before you go any further, I strongly urge you to take a few minutes and read her story in the following posts.  After you read her story, you'll understand a lot better, why I go on and on about this special girl.  (Go ahead, read.....take your time, I'll wait!)


Part I:  Against All Odds
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds.html

Part II: It's NICU time!!
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds_09.html

Part III: Life in the NICU and Beyond
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds_10.html

Part IV -- The Week When Time Stopped
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds_13.html

Part V -- Our Second Miracle
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds_14.html

Part VI --  Addendum
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds_1208.html

So, are you back??  Did you read it all??  Do you see why she is so special, at least to us?  Of course you do!  She is Maddie-the-Great for good reason!

Those health issues are all over with now and we are grateful.  M-t-G is completely healthy, suffered no consequences of being a preemie and on top of that she has been cancer free for eight years!  There are other ways that she is special too.  She is extremely bright.  Seriously bright, not just proud- Grandma bright!!

At the end of this school year she will "graduate" from elementary school and will be promoted to Middle School (6th-8th grades).  Kids in Austin have several options for Middle School.  Most of the kids go to one of the public Middle Schools as assigned according to the School District boundaries, but in addition to parochial or private schools, there are four other options.  There are three Middle School Magnet schools which focus on different areas of interest.  One is performing arts, one is law and international studies, a third (KMS) is an academically rigorous program, and the fourth is the Anne Richards School for Girls.  Application to these four consists of academic records (grades), special needs (gifted kids), and individual essay. 

M-t-G applied to KMS and Ann Richards.  Ann Richards School is a program established by the late Texas Governor, Ann Richards, to provide educational opportunities focusing women and opportunity.  Richards was also specifically established to provide opportunities for the financially disadvantaged girl.  Their enrollment is structured to be 75% from economically depressed neighborhoods in the city and the remaining 25% of the enrollment is selected by lottery of eligible applicants. 

Our girl was accepted at KMS and  was accepted/eligible at Ann Richards.  Whoo-Hoo!!  That's our kiddo!!  Although accepted/eligible at Ann Richards she was not selected in the lottery.  She may reapply next year or any following year, but I don't know that she will because she is REALLY excited at being accepted at KMS!  It was really her first choice.  There were 800+ applicants to KMS, of which about 200 were accepted and our Maddie was one of them! 

I think it will be a good choice for her.  She needs the challenge of being with other very bright kids.  School has been easy for her, straight As more often than not with not much effort.  KMS has an interesting curriculum and many electives are offered that challenge the kids in unusual ways (e.g., Physics through Cooking).  For the first time M-t-G may have to work a bit harder, but that's a good thing!

Of course, we are extremely proud of her!  She has already taken her Math placement test and she is awaiting the results.  She also has auditioned for the KMS Orchestra (she has been studying violin for four years) and it was indicated that she will most likely be accepted.  She's looking forward to that too!

Maddie has such a broad range of interests....she loves American History (especially WWII and the Civil War eras), she loves math, she loves music, she likes to be physically active, she is taking Tae Kwan Do and has already achieved several different colored belts (I've lost track of what level she is at currently), she is still in Girl Scouts, she loves to swim and roller skate (not at the same time!)  She wants to take up archery!  She loves horses and riding.  Nine times out of ten, when she watches TV, she watches the History or Discovery channels. Her vocabulary is outstanding.  She reads constantly (when she's not doing any of the other things she does!)  Her reading comprehension level has been identified at the High School Senior level and above!  As I said, she's an interesting kid!!

She, like every other kid, has some things she struggles with.  She likes to be in control.  She is feisty.  She has a temper that can get nearly out of control.  She is also approaching the time that hormones kick in and put her on that emotional roller coaster of the Tween/Teenager.  Every parent of girls has experienced that time when all of a sudden their happy little loving sunshine girl into a sad, miserable unhappy lump!   We have seen glimpses of that with our girl, and the next few years could be challenging for us all.

A few weeks ago M-t-G was upset about something with her mom and dad, and it slid into a melodramatic meltdown mode, with yelling, and tears, and "nobody likes me, I have no friends, you don't understand, you won't let me do anything, you don't love me!"  In between the dramatic sobs and the litany of being unloved, she paused, then sobbed out, "I am, of course, speaking metaphorically!!"

Oh yeah, she's our Maddie-the-Great!  She's a pistol!   I mean, really, how can ya help loving a kid like that??!! 

"Younger Than Springtime"

I've always gotten along pretty well with friends of my daughter's and other folks I have encountered who are her contemporaries, not mine, but I seem to get along with them anyway.  I like to think it keeps me young....either that or it proves I have an arrested development!  LOL!

My daughter has a good friend, Mike,  from her high school days, a really nice boy who grew up to be a really nice man.  They were never an "item", their friendship was more of the brother/sister variety.  They have stayed in touch ever since.  In actuality he has become a friend of the family over the years, he was a member of Rachlet's wedding party, and we all have a mutual interest and friends in theater and performance.   

Fairly early on Rachlet's friend became a single dad and he and his son have always been very close.   Mike has been an involved dad and I don't think he could have possibly been more proud of his son (who has always been as cute as he could be, just like his dad). 

Mike's son had a birthday this weekend.  He turned 25.  Happy Birthday, Tommy!  Congratulations on your great son, Mike!

Sooooo, Mike is one year older than my Rachlet....and he has a son who is 25....which means Rachlet, technically, could also have had a child who could be 25...she doesn't, of course, but she could .....which means I could have  a grandchild who is 25....I don't, of course, but I COULD....

And that, my friends, makes me officially Older than Dirt!!!

"Younger Than Springtime??"    It's not as easy as it used to be!   :)

"Long Time Gone"

Today, March 5, 2012 would have been my father's 93rd birthday. But we lost him in 1978 when he was only 59 years old.  This year will be our 34th year without him, that is more than half my life!  Oh wow!  I've lived more of my life without my dad than with him.

James Harvey Johnsen
1919 - 1978
R.I.P.

He survived a childhood of divorced parents (a rarity at that time) and during the Depression.
He survived WWII, even after 4 long years in the South Pacific.
He met and married my mother and they were together for nearly 34 years.
He fathered two daughters who loved him (flaws and all).
He saw one daughter married, and one daughter off to college.
He knew and loved his first son-in-law (and was loved in return!)
He was able to enjoy his first grandchild until she was 11 years old.
He was gone much too soon and he has been a "Long Time Gone."

He missed so much!
He would have been so proud of Little Sis graduating from college and having a "real" profession.
He would have been proud to know that her daughter will soon have a "real" profession too!
He would have loved knowing he had two more grandchildren, especially a grandson!
He would be so proud of the person Ratchlet  has become, as well as her very successful career.
He would have loved knowing Maddie-the-Great, his great granddaughter, he would be so proud.
He would have loved hearing me and the trio sing the old songs in 3 part harmony!
He would have loved seeing the Big Guy on stage in the fabulous roles he's had.
He would have loved seeing me acting and directing for the stage.
He would have loved all the dogs (and probably the cats too) that have come into and out of our family over the years.

He would have been saddened at our losses.
He would have been supportive in our hard times.
He would have worried with us, cried with us, laughed with us, celebrated with us, and smiled his wonderful smile.
He would have been around much, much longer if it had been up to him.
He would have loved sharing his 93rd birthday with his family.

And so would we.

You've been a long time gone. We all miss you every day, Daddy! 
Your eldest daughter and all your loving family

"Happy Birthday"

I have always sympathised with those who have the misfortune of being born on Christmas (Dec. 25).  Usually their "special" day is overshadowed by all the hoopla and tradition of Christmas, sort of leaving the birthday as an afterthought...."Oh, and by the way, happy birthday to Junior too."  Junior ends up feeling pretty un-special!

Their misfortune pales in comparison to those poor souls who were born on February 29!  Their "special" day only comes around every four years!  To be strictly factual, they don't have an actual birthday to celebrate in a normal year.  A makeshift substitute is usually chosen so that poor Junior gets to mark the passage of another year in his life, but it ends up being Feb.28 or March 1, which really doesn't have the same panache at all!  I don't know anyone actually born on Feb 29, but if it were to have happened somewhere in my family, I'm pretty sure that every 4th year when Feb 29 showed up there would have been a great big celebration to sort of make up for the lack in the other three years.  But that's just us, we tend to mark special things with a bit of "over done!"  :)

So for all of those who are actually celebrating their "real" birthday today, I wish you many happy returns of the day.  I hope you stuff four years' worth of goodies and partying and happiness into your SPECIAL day.  Happy Birthday!

Of course, this situation comes along because of the earth's lack of symmetry in making that annual trip around the sun.  In a perfect world, the trip would take exactly 365 days; but it's not a perfect world (as we all know!)  In reality the trip is 5 hours and change longer than exactly 365 days.  In essence we ignore those hours for regular years.  But if we don't add in that extra day every four years to catch up, we would be 24 days behind at the end of 100 years.   The seasons would be screwed up.  The calendar would always be wrong.  No one would be able to agree on what time it was.  You would never know if you were early or late!  After 500 years, without those adjustments, chaos would ensue.  

So by throwing in an extra day (Feb 29) every four years we avoid all that mess.  Very clever.  An easy fix (sort of).  I don't know who it was who first discovered the extra hours.  Nor do I know how the world managed to get everyone to agree to throw in that extra day.  It must have happened centuries ago, because our current world can't seem to agree on ANYTHING, much less something as monumental as adding a day!  Nevertheless, somehow it did happen and we are all living with the result....Leap Year!

I hadn't ever really thought too much about the name of this phenomenon, Leap Year.  As I think about it now however, I really think that whoever chose that name, really got it wrong!  A leap is defined as "to spring through the air from one point or position to another."   Well, we don't spring from anywhere to anywhere else in Leap Year, at least not in the way I understand the words.  We add hours.  We put in extras.  We adjust.  We fix.  We regain that which has been lost.  But we don't leap!  I think it should have been call something else.  Something that reflected the actual action and reason for the addition of that day every fourth year.  Something like "WEDGE YEAR!!"  Don't you?

Though all those folks born on February 29, probably wouldn't like it.  Synonyms for wedge include cram, jam, stuff, crowd, squeeze.  They aren't particularly happy words, they are about making something fit into a space that is too small with an object that doesn't belong there.

Those Feb 29 babies already feel like they don't belong, we don't need to make them feel worse!!
I guess we'd better stick with "leap!"   :)

"Talk to the Animals"

One of the things I love about blogging is coming across a post from another blogger that strikes a chord....for whatever reason! Today was one of those times. And I just have to share!

I visited "My Four Bubs....Finding Humor in the Everyday Chaos", one of my favorite bloggers. She writes about her life with their three boys and their little sister, four of the cutest kids ever!  One of the boys turned 3 years old this week and to celebrate, the family went to visit the zoo in their town. I enjoyed this post so much I have brazenly "lifted" parts of it to share with you!  Thanks Brandi!

Go and visit "My Four Bubs" when you can, it is sure to give you a few smiles.  Here's a link to this posting:

http://myfourbubs.blogspot.com/2012/02/we-partied-like-it-was-his-birfday.html 









 


(Boy was not part of the exhibit!)

BB was really excited to see all (five of) the 'aminals' at our (tiny) Zoo.....And that about wraps up our Zoo.


Yep, that's it! Just five different kinds of animals....one tiger, two rhinos, one parrot, two parakeets, and a goat!   ROFLMA!!! Oh God, I can't stop laughing every time I think about it!!  I mean, what kind of zoo only has five kinds of animals?? 

Now please understand, I am NOT being snide or snarky.  I think it's great for any town to provide a zoo so kids (and grown ups) can see some of the less common animals without having to travel to the big zoos.  This is a town that provides what it can.  Not every town tries this hard.  And they have done a decent job of representing the wide range of fauna in our world....mammals from faraway places, mammals as close as the nearest barnyard,  winged creatures blessed with the ability to FLY!
As large as a rhino to as small as a parakeet!  See what I mean?  It's just like Wild Kingdom in miniature!

Still....pardon me while I giggle some more....it is a pretty tiny zoo as zoos go.  It isn't the sort of zoo you could spend a whole day at!  It wouldn't make much of a class trip!  They could see the whole thing at recess!

Hey, you know if somebody in town would donate a couple of goldfish, they could add an aquarium and increase the size of the zoo by about 16%, and not affect the food budget by very much at all!   Goldfish hardly eat anything!  (Well, ok, that was a little bit snide and snarky! lol!!)

And if the town has a resident Dr. Dolittle who wants to "Talk to the Animals," it wouldn't have to be a very long conversation.  The good Doctor would only need to talk to the tiger, rhinos, and goat!  The parrot and parakeets can talk to each other!

[Laughing out loud again....I just crack myself up sometimes!]

"Bits and Pieces" (update)

Just little bits of this and a few pieces of that....

I should have started writing this earlier but as always time gets away from me.  This needs to have a September 9 date/  I think I have finally figured out how to make Blogger post the date I want rather, than the actual date, we'll see.  Anyway, a bunch of stuff today.

1.  Today, September 9, is the 89th anniversary of my mother's birth.  She would have been 89 today.  She left us in November 11 six years ago.  Even though it's been six years, I think about her a lot and I keep thinking, "I wish I could ask or tell Mom ______; she would know, or remember, or enjoy."  There is a lot of family history that no one knows anymore.  Her stories and experiences and memories gave me an appreciation of life in the 1930s and 1940s.  Mainly, though I just miss her.  She could make me laugh and she always laughed when I tried to be funny.  She was loving, and generous, and fun.  Sometimes even an old girl (like me) really needs her Mom! 

Mom, me, and Little Sis - 1963

**************

2.  Last night I had the opportunity to see Michael Feinstein in concert.  It was, I believe, the 4th or 5th time, I've seen him perform in person.  He is a wonderful musician, pianist, singer, and teller of tales.  He is the living repository of the great songs from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s (and beyond).  My mom would have loved it, that was "her" music and she probably knew every song he sang! (I only knew about 2/3 of them!)   Last night the program was an all-Sinatra celebration.  Frank Sinatra recorded hundreds of great songs and many became strongly identified with him.  He worked with all the great songwriters of that period and there were LOTS of them and they were very prolific.  It's the kind of music you can actually sing and understand.  The songs are like memories of your life.  Feinstein did a great job.  He worked with an 18 piece swing orchestra made up of local musicians that came together just for this event.  They sounded every bit as good as the Dorsey, Goodman, or Whiteman orchestras from back in the day!  (I guess they don't call Austin the Music Capital of the World for nothing!)  Feinstein has the kind of talent that I would love to have even a little piece of.  He just sits at the piano (or stands at the mike) and lets those old songs rip!  And believe me, there wasn't a soul there who wasn't tapping a foot or swaying and enjoying every note he sang! 

***************

3.  Tomorrow night (Saturday) will be another music night.  This time it will be the Austin Girls Choir starring Maddie-the-Great!   (Well, ok....she's not really the star to anyone but us, still...)  It's the first concert of this school year.  Looking forward to hearing them again.  They may not be as talented as Sinatra or Feinstein, but you can be pretty sure that these girls enjoy singing almost as much as Ol' blue Eyes ever did!

***************

4.  Can you stand yet another weather update??  (If not, skip ahead, it's ok!)  Well, the temperatures have dropped a lot from 2 weeks ago!  Highs have only been in the 90s and lows are now dropping into the 50s at night!  But we still have no rain!!  Austin's total rainfall for the year is currently 16"-20" BELOW normal!  And there is no end in sight.  But at least most of the fires are either under control or out completely!  Of course, what comes next for those areas is clean-up, rebuilding, and recovery.  Certainly not an easy task.  I am very grateful we were never in any real danger and all those who were less fortunate and were caught in the conflagration have my heartfelt condolences over their losses.  The worst of it is, of course, that until we get some serious rain and the drought ends, things just keep getting drier and drier, so wildfire danger is just as bad as it was before the fires.  We haven't unpacked our papers and photos and things and we won't till that danger has moderated significantly!


***************

5.  The other day I wrote about feeling blue over my lack of commenters and questionning if I should just quit writing.   Well, I got some lovely responses, all pretty much saying they enjoy my blog and I should continue.   After everyone's kind words, I am pumped up enough to keep on keeping on!  I want to clarify however,  I absolutely understand how overwhelmed one can get when following a lot of blogs.  Reading and commenting on everything is impossible and can really use up a lot of time.  I do NOT expect anyone to comment every day or about every post.  A lot of it doesn't require a comment or deserve one!!

The people I don't understand are the ones who sign up as followers but have never visited again!  They never read or commented after their first visit!  If they aren't interested in what I write, why did they sign up??  I'm not looking to inflate my followers for advertising income (I don't have ads.)  I don't try to sell anything to anyone so there is nothing to buy.  I don't have contests or giveaways (mainly because I don't understand how they work, and besides I'm not trying to bribe people to read my blog.)  I'm not too interested in the "If you follow me, I'll follow you" kind of exchange. 

If I like a blog, I will follow it.  I will read it pretty regularly.  I will comment when I have something to say.  I don't follow people so that they follow me back.  The only kind of followers I want are those who want to read what I have to say!   The kind that will comment from time to time if I hit on something that strikes a chord in them! 

I love having followers and readers who have some type of reaction to the words I type!  I love that they come back occasionally or regularly.   I'd love it even more if they would say something now and then, just to keep it from getting too quiet around here, you know??

I would be extremely remiss if I did not publicly thank my very good blogger friends who hastened to assure me that it's not just me!  They individually wrote some lovely things and boosted my bruised little ego back to the point where I'm out of the downward spiral.

I'm grateful to Mona, Jim, Laurie, Manzanita, Theresa,  Beth and Sandy!  You guys are the BEST!!

"Today Is Your Birthday"

Today (Friday, that is) is my baby sister's birthday.  She was born a loooong time ago (but not nearly as long ago as me!)  It was fun having a baby around when you are 12, as I was, and suddenly you have a sibling.  Surprise!  Actually, all three of us (Mom, Dad, and me) were surprised!  Mom had been told there would be no more children, so our little bundle of joy was a gift from heaven (or someplace).

I was just old enough to help Mom with the new baby, and I was young enough not to resent having to share the load.  It was like having a little doll that actually moved and everything!  I had always wanted a sister, and although I had wanted one that was a little closer to my age.  Still.....

She was cute as a button!  Blonde, blonde hair....blue eyes..... a happy baby who didn't cry all that much (at least not that I recall.)  She liked me to rock and sing to her when she was around a year old.  It didn't last all that long, only a few months.   Like all kids, she had places to go and sitting still got old.  About that time too, I turned into a teenager and my life got more social.  Nevertheless we both enjoyed it for a time. 

Sadly, tho, with the age spread, our personalities being so different. and the geographic distance between us, we've never had too many chances to just "hang out" as adults.  In fact, I believe it's about 2 1/2 years since I've seen her.  We talk on the phone occasionally, but that doesn't happen that often anymore.  She's busy, I'm busy, our lives are on different paths.  There are just too many  miles between Austin and Phoenix to get together on a whim.   Especially when one won't fly(me) and the other won't travel alone (her)!!

It's too bad, because I miss her.  

In honor of her birthday, I will share an oldie but goodie, that might bring back memories.  (You'll have to pretend you can hear me, 'cause there is no way I am putting a video recording of me singing on the Internet!.....so use your imaginations.  Ahem......

(To the tune of "Marianne")

All day, all night, Debbi Ann

Down by the seaside sifting sand.

Even little children love Debbi Ann,

Down by the seaside sifting sand.

Debbi Ann, oh Debbi Ann, oh won't you marry me?

We will build a bamboo hut and raise  a family..

Leave  your fat old mama home, she never will say yes!

If mama don't know now, she can guess. 

Hurry up now!

All day, all night, Debbi Ann,

Down by the seaside sifting sand.

Even little children love Debbi Ann,

Down by the seaside sifting sand.

Happy Birthday, Little Sis!

With love, from Big Sis

"The Best Is Yet to Come"

In approximately 5 hours from the time I am writing this, a milestone will occur in our house.  It will be the anniversary of my birth.  I will reach 23,741 days on this earth!  Funny, it seems longer than that!  A person should be able to accomplish great things in 23,741 days.  Looking back I accomplished many things of which I am proud.  I tried many new things, I've made mistakes, had successes, survived failures, and endured loss.  I learned a lot of interesting facts,  met a lot of great people, plus a pretty fair number of real stinkers!  I have been blessed with many good friends, even several BFFs!

Over the years I have explored my talents, recognized my weaknesses, even tried to improve a few.  I've held responsible positions in an industry where the focus is on caring for others.  I've worked for and with people I deeply respect and admire.  I married, kept a house, raised a child, tried a hobby, kept a secret, written letters, read books, sang songs, and enjoyed much  of what I encountered, tolerated parts of it, and got the hell out when I needed to!!. 

I have loved a lot of people and lost many of them.  I have the best relationship a mother ever had with a daughter who is my greatest joy.  I have kept the same husband for 45 years, even though some days we both wondered why!  We laughed together, cried together, got mad together, made up together.  I learned to love dogs and love them I did!  I found joy in performance through singing, dance, acting and directing for the stage.  I have been a part of great shows, and awful shows, but I learned from each one.

I have laughed until my stomach hurt, I have cried until my stomach hurt.  I  have cooked and cleaned and nurtured, and planted and then I did them again and again.  I have had repetitive tasks done a million times and once in a lifetime experiences. 

I have had happiness, wealth, sadness, boredom, financial shortfalls, misery, thrills, fear, relief, worry, stress, challenges, simplicity and complexity.  Good, bad, right, wrong, joy, grief, treasured moments and moments to forget.

Yes, 23,471 days to my life....so far.  Like everyone else, each day brought another 24 hours to the sum of my life.  65 Years!  Impossible!  Where have they gone?  It's been a blink of an eye.  How many more will there be?  I don't want to know.  I just want to live them, share them with those I love and hold on to the idea that maybe,  just maybe, "The Best Is Yet to Come"!

"When I'm Sixty-Four"

When I get older losing my hair,

Many years from now.

Will you still be sending me a Valentine

Birthday greetings bottle of wine.

If I'd been out till quarter to three

Would you lock the door

Will you still need me, will you still feed me,

When I'm sixty-four?

You'll be older too,

And if you say the word,

I could stay with you.

I could be handy, mending a fuse

When your lights have gone. 

You can knit a sweater by the fireside

Sunday morning go for a ride.

Doing the garden, digging the weeds,

Who could ask for more.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me,

When I'm sixty-four? 

Every summer we can rent a cottage,

In the Isle of Wright, if it's not too dear

We shall scrimp and save

Grandchildren on your knee

Vera Chuck and Dave 

Send me a postcard, drop me a line,

Stating point of view

Indicate precisely what you mean to say

Yours sincerely, wasting away

Give me your answer, fill in a form

Mine for evermore.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me

When I'm sixty-four?

This song, written by Paul McCartney, was on the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album. It was released in 1967. I was 21 years old at the time. And yes, back then 64 was definitely "many years from now." When you're 21 (and especially in 1967) being 64 years old seems very nearly unimaginable.

Life goes on though, doesn't it? And tomorrow morning at approximately 6:20 a.m. the unimaginable will become my reality. So, "will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four??"

Guess I'm gonna find out!

"My Guy"

I'm feeling about a quart low today,  mostly it relates to "My Guy".  As I told you  last month, the Big Guy and I have been married for 44 years.  From that you can gather that neither one of us is, by any stretch of the imagination, "young".  And my guy is about to become older.

May 3, this Monday, is the Big Guy's birthday.  Not just any old birthday either!  Oh no!  This is a biggie, a real big biggie.  He will be...(gulp)....65!  65!!  Oh. My. God.  How is that possible?  65 years old.  That used to be everyone's idea of old.  Once you reached 65 you were made to retire.  They put you out to pasture.  Get the gold watch and vacate the building.  You could begin to collect on all those years you paid into Social Security.  Medicare was available.  If you got a pension, that was when you would start to receive it.  You were so far over the hill that there wasn't any way back up.  Too old to be useful.  Too old for anything!  65 was the official beginning of "old age". 

I met the Big Guy when he was 18 years old (I was 17).   I knew fairly soon after we met that he was "my guy".  [In fact, when I came home after our first official "date", I told my mother, "That's the man I'm going to marry."  She didn't believe me, but eventually she did!]   Anyway 18 was a loooong time ago.  So sometimes it seems like I've known him my whole life.  Other times I'm not sure I have a clue about who he "is".  All I know is that we're still here and together and Sunday, he will be officially OLD!  I will be married to an old man!!! 

Now I would like to point out, that I am the only one having trouble with this, not him.  Mikey takes things like this in stride.  I'm sure that he never feels "old".   (Well, why would he?   His family seems to live forever!)   But me?  I'm not so tolerant of the march of time.  If he will be 65 on Sunday, that means that I (carefree, happy,  childlike, little sprite that I am) will be 65 in about one year  and 2 months from now.    AAAAAAAAAACCCKKK!  

[No. No.  Can't talk about that.  Rewind, Rewind!!!]

OK, back to the Big Guy.  Of course, he doesn't even have the decency to look his age.  People consistently guess his age to be 10 years younger than he is.  That's hardly fair.  He's my elder by 14 months, yet when we are out together, I look like I'm with my younger ....ahhh....friend! 

Of course, 65 is no longer considered the beginning of the end by much of anyone.   The Big Guy is still working a full-time job, at nights no less!  He has no plan to retire any time soon that I know of.  He is healthy. He's a little too round and doesn't do anything to stay fit.   Nevertheless, he doesn't need to take ANY medication of ANY sort!  His BP, Cholesterol, and all those things are FINE!    Does that sound like an old man to you??  (Me either.) 

So for My Guy, 65 is just another birthday.  As it should be.  He's my guy and I'm really glad that he is still around.  So, Happy Birthday Mikey!   May you live long and prosper!  

(Uhhhm....and if you could share just a few of those longevity genes with me, that would be pretty nifty.)