My Birthday
Yesterday was my birthday. I woke up at my mom's house in Las Vegas. She had been in the hospital with pneumonia. She's home again, but she's weak. Hopefully the physical therapist can get her back and more stable on her feet.
Pam took me to the airport. I'm very grateful that she and Brian are now living at Mom's house. I should make a plan to make things a bit easier on them somehow.
At the airport, I told everyone who looked at my driver's license that it was my birthday. It was freeing to do so. For years at work in offices, I feared that somehow my birthday would get discovered and that there would be a surprise conference-room party -- or worse, there wouldn't be. My strategy was to celebrate others' as much as I could while keeping mine a secret. It's just easier to try to keep as many people in ignorant innocence and remove the possiblity of expectation. Boy, is that passive aggressive or what?
Any way, I got on a crowded, uneventful non-stop and was gratetful to be home. I love my family, but I hate Las Vegas. Well, except for its history, sun, and the parts of it that are still desert. The part of terraformed sprawl where my family lives is comprised exclusively of semi-private housing developments with names like "The Pines" and enormous strip malls filled with big-box (Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Best Buy) retail stores, fast food, hair salons, and restaurant-size casinos. By my casual reckoning, 1 in 10 vehicles is a Hummer, 4 in 10 are extra-large SUVs, 8 in 10 are some kind of truck. Most of them are less than 4 years old. And this place went to George Bush in the election. Life, you see, is a party, and what ever occurs in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Flying over Seattle, I could feel the love swelling in my heart. I could see the ferry that was bringing my baby to me, but I couldn't see the island through the fog. The trees, the lakes, the grey, the rain...home.
Wendy picked me up at the airport and we drove to Pike Place Market to pick up some fresh mussels, clams, and prawns for cioppino. When we pulled in, all of our Christmas lights were on. Cinder almost danced and piddled herself inside out when she saw me.
I got a new desk chair, Blade Runner (Director's Cut), Training Day, Kill Bill Volume 1, and Bad Santa on DVD; a fleece pull-over, America (the Book), U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, some fleece slippers, and Halo 2.
We had a wonderful dinner and a delicious cherry pie baked from my mother's recipe (which I had e-mailed to Wendy a few days prior). We fell asleep on the couch while watching Bad Santa. Cinder was cuddled in my lap.
Pam took me to the airport. I'm very grateful that she and Brian are now living at Mom's house. I should make a plan to make things a bit easier on them somehow.
At the airport, I told everyone who looked at my driver's license that it was my birthday. It was freeing to do so. For years at work in offices, I feared that somehow my birthday would get discovered and that there would be a surprise conference-room party -- or worse, there wouldn't be. My strategy was to celebrate others' as much as I could while keeping mine a secret. It's just easier to try to keep as many people in ignorant innocence and remove the possiblity of expectation. Boy, is that passive aggressive or what?
Any way, I got on a crowded, uneventful non-stop and was gratetful to be home. I love my family, but I hate Las Vegas. Well, except for its history, sun, and the parts of it that are still desert. The part of terraformed sprawl where my family lives is comprised exclusively of semi-private housing developments with names like "The Pines" and enormous strip malls filled with big-box (Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Best Buy) retail stores, fast food, hair salons, and restaurant-size casinos. By my casual reckoning, 1 in 10 vehicles is a Hummer, 4 in 10 are extra-large SUVs, 8 in 10 are some kind of truck. Most of them are less than 4 years old. And this place went to George Bush in the election. Life, you see, is a party, and what ever occurs in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Flying over Seattle, I could feel the love swelling in my heart. I could see the ferry that was bringing my baby to me, but I couldn't see the island through the fog. The trees, the lakes, the grey, the rain...home.
Wendy picked me up at the airport and we drove to Pike Place Market to pick up some fresh mussels, clams, and prawns for cioppino. When we pulled in, all of our Christmas lights were on. Cinder almost danced and piddled herself inside out when she saw me.
I got a new desk chair, Blade Runner (Director's Cut), Training Day, Kill Bill Volume 1, and Bad Santa on DVD; a fleece pull-over, America (the Book), U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, some fleece slippers, and Halo 2.
We had a wonderful dinner and a delicious cherry pie baked from my mother's recipe (which I had e-mailed to Wendy a few days prior). We fell asleep on the couch while watching Bad Santa. Cinder was cuddled in my lap.
Labels: Wendy
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home