Day of the Rock

Guess what today is? It's August 30th. MAMA'S BIRTHDAY!!! She won't tell you it is, because she's "over" birthdays, but I will tell you. And Daddy had a big special day planned for her, you better believe it. First, she got to sleep in past 8. Then I got in bed with her and sang her the happy birthday song that I had been practicing. She was happy already and it was still only morning time. There was much more to come.


First, she got presents, the first part of her presents, the practical gifts: the best Indian cookbook, a guide to PacNorthwest camping spots and the ergonomic posturepedic memory foam lumbar support sweet black leather chair she has been dreaming about. My mom sits at her desk writing for many hours at a time and the little wooden chair she has been using has sent her to the acupuncture man with terrible back issues. She was really happy now.


Then I opened all the birthday cards for her and she read them to me and we both laughed at the humorous humor.

Then Daddy took Mama to the ferry for the other, not-practical side of her gift. They took the boat to Seattle...


Then they got on another boat...


and they boated out to the middle of the Puget Sound...


and the skipper told them to get up and come down to the edge of the boat, so they came down to the edge of the boat and they got strapped and then...


THEY WERE FLYING! UP IN THE SKY!
A HUNDRED MILES UP IN THE SKY!
PARASAILING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


INCREDIBLE.


DELIGHTFUL.


SCARY. Before they went up, the skipper told them that the boat engine will not die, but in the unlikely event that the engine does die, you will hit the water and he told them what to do to survive. So, they go up in the air, a hundred miles, they are flying and laughing and screaming and having a super incredible and delightful time, when suddenly, THE BOAT ENGINE DIES and they begin to PLUMMET DOWN INTO THE SEA. My mom is saying ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod over and over, my daddy is saying whats going on over and over, they are almost wetting through their diapers, when the boat engine starts up again and they float back upwards. It was a joke, a joke the skipper plays on innocent birthday girls. They would have been mad but the adrenaline drug felt so good and the relief of being alive and happy again made them enjoy the rest of the flying experience even more.


Mama loved the adventure side of her birthday gift even as much as the practical side and now she was completely satisfied with happiness.


And at the end of the great special day, August 30th, Day of the Rock, we gave her, The Rock, a chocolate mousse birthday cake. I helped her blow out the candle.


And I sang Happy Birthday to Mommy one more time.


And I ate a piece of cake. And I spazzed out for the next hour, a hundred miles high.


Happy Birthday dear Mama, the softest rock, my very best friend in all this world. I love you.