Break from Blogging

Sorry to have worried a couple of you by being silent so long. All is well; it's just that I've been busy, and out of town.

Thursday I went to North Carolina for the birthdays of both my children. Mark's 40th birthday was on Thursday, and Erin's birthday was on Saturday. Both of them had parties Saturday night and I shuttled back and forth between them.

Mark's was a surprise party and he was very surprised indeed. His company had donated generously to the Humane Society and all the employees were expected to attend the Fur Ball in support of that organization. Of course, Mark's boss was in on the plot, so the ball got talked up at work a great deal. When Mark got home, all the party guests were in the front yard, blowing horns and shouting, and Mark simply stopped his car in the middle of the street. Later, he told me he was thinking, "What the -- are all these people DOING there? Kathy and I have to LEAVE!" He said it was seeing my face in the crowd that finally turned his mind in the right direction (What's a mother for?) and made him realize the plan for the evening was quite different. And better, balls not being exactly his thing.

Herer are some photos; I haven't yet received the ones from Erin. You can click to enlarge.


Mark Arriving home, still dazed by the surprise


By now somebody has handed Mark a beer. Here, his children greet him. Kelly, foreground, has handed him a camellia; the twins flank him, Ryan in the red jersey, Connor blowing his horn.


The whole piece of cake, in one bite!

It was good seeing all my grandchildren, too! I already miss them all.
I've been waiting for years now for Mark to turn 40, so I'd have his company on the other side of the divide between young and OLD. Trouble is that when the day at last came, suddenly 40 seemed very young!

The flying squirrels were hits with all of them. They have accounted for most of the rest of my time lately, not that they require so much time, but by my choice. I suppose I'm burying myself in critters to distract myself from things like the economy.