6:17AM: I grab my phone off the nightstand. I turn off the alarm and set the phone back down on top of the post-it note where I wrote, “banner and wrap” the night before.
6:25AM: I get up after the 8-minute snooze goes off again. I see the post-it, and turn to look at Clayton still in bed, deeply breathing. Relieved, I go to the hallway closet and find the multi-colored felt birthday banner. I attach the banner to the now semi-permanently affixed 3M-hooks my father-in-law couldn’t believe I just willy-nilly stuck to the white ceiling trim between the kitchen and the dining room.
6:32AM: I find a bag to wrap the new running watch I ordered in advance of Clayton’s birthday, (proud of myself for once being prepared for a birthday), but can’t find even a scrap of tissue paper despite keeping almost every gift bag we’ve received since the five years of living in this house. With no luck, I opt for a clean white tea towel that I use to wrap the watch.
7:10AM: Clayton sits with the girls at the butcher block island and opens his present while I watch. I wait in anticipation for Clayton to tell me I’m the best, that this is exactly what he wanted, that I’m literally the most thoughtful wife on the planet.
He examines the watch and kindly says, “Wow, thank you!” And then asks how I decided on this specific version of running watch?
“It’s the link Nate sent me! The one you asked him about when we saw him two weeks ago in North Carolina!”
His tone is soft and kind, “Oh, cool… hum, just curious because this isn’t the one Nate has.” Immediately, I tell him to “just return it- get whatever you want,” aggravated at myself for buying the wrong one, a typical quick purchase, me not reading the details, ‘sure it would be fine.’
7:20AM: We eat breakfast, get bags ready, and I confirm schedules one more time with Clayton. We would be juggling watching Kate who was sent home at 3PM the day before with diarrhea, a symptom that required her to be '24-hours liquid-poop free before she could return to school.
As I make negotiations with Caroline who also wants to stay home because, ‘maybe my tummy hurts, too mommy!” I remind Clayton that I’ll take her to school, do my workout, take my one sales call, and meet him at my office ready to take Kate not a minute after 10:30. I remind him we are fully covered for the rest of the day.
7:45AM: I see Clayton on his phone sending an email, or rescheduling a meeting, or doing anything but telling me how much he loved my extra special, thoughtful, planned ahead of time birthday gift.
I can’t help myself when I ask Clayton, “is something wrong?!” When he says, “What? No, there isn’t anything wrong!” and that he was just rescheduling something for later in the day, I quickly respond that I think he’s mad because his morning is disrupted and whenever the girls are sick I’m always the one rearranging plans so fine, “I’ll just cancel my morning.”
He tells me in one calm tone to not be ridiculous, that he is excited to be with Kate, he’s cancelled his morning, and why doesn’t he give me a little more time after my call to wrap things up at work.
I ignore his kindness and grab Caroline’s backpack.
7:50AM: I slam the front door shut for emphasis. As it happens, I think twice about going back in to say sorry and happy birthday and I really do hope you have a great day. Instead I pridefully walk to the van at the same time the girls school calls to check on Kate and see if Caroline will be joining at school today symptom free, all while watching a massive hawk land at the end of our driveway and begin to annihilate the road-kill rabbit on the road. I run inside to tell Clayton and Kate that, ‘they have to see this!’
7:54AM: While inside, I explain what the call from school was about to Clayton. I avoid discussing my previous behavior by talking about the National Geographic scene in front of us. I tell him I’ll see him at my office soon.
10:26: I anxiously watch the clock on my sales meeting, knowing it needs to end on time because Clayton will be here any minute with Kate and I’ve already been a brat, and he really is busy with work.
10:45: I rush into the office kitchen where Clayton is patiently waiting with Kate. I am now “so sorry to be late!” and let him know, “I’ll totally take care of dinner.” I ask if he wants our favorite: Flyover takeout or pizza? Before he can answer I tell him, “you know what, I’ll just handle it.”
12:30PM: I drive back home from the office with Kate and text my co-worker to see if she can last-minute watch Kate while I take this important call I forgot about at 2PM. I tell her it will be easy, because Kate will be napping.
1:00PM: I involve myself in a battle with Kate to please please please nap.
1:45PM: I lose the battle with Kate and pass her off to my co-worker to watch for, “just an hour… I swear, this call will be quick, done right at 3PM!”
3:35PM: I rush down to my co-worker in apologetics for the call going so over. “I’m so sorry,” and, “can I order you dinner as a sign of thanks?!”
4:00PM: I pick up Caroline from school and text Clayton that I’ll order Pizza. I ask if he wants to invite our neighbor friends over to join?
4:15PM: Clayton says pizza sounds great and so does inviting friends. When he asks about picking up salad and dessert at the store, I cut him off and say, “no,no, you don't need to get the salad at the store because I will! It’s your birthday. We’re all good!”
4:45PM: I forget to order the pizza. I text Clayton to order, and text our friends to see if they can come over early before dinner and watch the girls while I go to Hyvee and get the salad and a box of brownies I was supposed to have.
5:15PM: As soon as they arrive, I drive to Hyvee and remember that I should get gas and snacks for our early morning flight to Hilton Head.
In the baking aisle I grab a box of Salted Caramel Brownies, a birthday favorite of Claytons.
6:10PM: There is a full house of neighbors and my own family, ready to eat when I get home. I pass off the salad bag while I start the brownies. As I search the lazy susan for vegetable oil, I realize we don’t have any. Google tells me that avocado oil and vegetable oil is a 1:1 swap.
7:30: We cut the brownies and take a taste. Ugh, it’s gotta be the oil. We determine, “they aren’t that bad”, as I find the only candle I can and hold it by the bottom part in front of Clayton, avoiding blowing over the baked dish, a post Covid habit. We sing happy birthday in unison as Clayton blows out the yellow glitter “1” candle from Kate’s first birthday.
8:00PM: I realize it's 8PM and signal to the neighbors we better get the girls to bed and start packing for our early morning flight.
11:45PM: I crawl into bed after cleaning up from brownies and pizza, and after packing, unpacking, and re-packing trying to get everything into one bag. We make a list of things we will just ‘do in the morning.’
11:47PM: I roll-over and reach to pat Clayton’s arm, “I love you, hope you had a good birthday, sorry I slammed the door.”
Thanks for help on this one Brenda Geary,
and .Love you SM,
- HBD!
Gee Zuz, Emma. I’m exhausted!! I feel like I read a script of ‘I Love Lucy.’
Happy Birthday, Clayton!
OMG. I'm crying. These are my favorite posts.