Thinking back on a great weekend.

11 days ago from this writing was my 45th birthday. And while I don't always deserve it, my wife and kids spoil me on my special day. I spoil myself by taking the day off from work each year, but my family spoils me in a different way. They go out of their way to make the day fun, stress free, and simply a great day. Last year, my wife blew the top off of all other birthdays with presenting me with not only a homemade red velvet cake, compliments of my mother, but she also arranged to somehow talk my friends to buy me a bottle of some the best port wine there is, and then she manipulates, plans, begs, borrows and steals her way clear to get into her possession, (and subsequently mine) a Ruger Redhawk, .44 Magnum pistol for my 44th birthday. Talk about a fantastic birthday! This year, I was not really looking for anything, money is damned tight, and I did not want them to go overboard, so I kind of just layed low with ideas. The only thing I really wanted to do was go to Turkey Run and have some fun on my birthday. They had other plans. As expected, I got to sleep in just a bit longer than usual. (Dogs have no concept of birthdays...) I got a nice breakfast made for me, and then the kids and my wife gave me my gifts. I had mentioned that I would like a certificate for a pedicure (Yes, a pedicure. Don't frakking knock it until you have experienced one for yourself!) and indeed I got one, compliments of my wife and daughter. And then my wife gives me essentially a picture of what the rest of my gift was. Due to mailing problems, I would not receive the gift until the next day, she wanted me to see it. It was a Mossberg, 702 Plinkster .22 Long rifle AR-15 styled rifle and it was sweet!! It is a really nice looking gun and I was thinking of getting this for my son for his birthday, which is why it came on her radar. Now I thought that she bought it for me, but I was wrong. Boy was I wrong. Come to find out, my son bought it for me with the first two paychecks from his new job! And he was actually the one who forwarded the idea of buying it for me. The whole idea was enough to bring tears to my eyes! I was floored and really humbled by their actions. Especially those of my son.

After getting over the emotion of the morning, we set out for Turkey Run with the dogs and had a wonderful time walking the trails, enjoying the fall weather and scenery and simply having a good time. We even hit a few flea markets while visiting in Indiana. And to follow that up, we later had a meal at my favorite restaurant in Gibson City, the Bayern Stube, serving up Oktoberfest goodies!

Throughout this whole day, and for that matter, the whole weekend, I was cognizant to stop for a few moments throughout the day and just drink in the feeling of being alive and healthy, surrounded by my family and friends, and knowing that it is days like this that make life worth living. I want to thank my family for making it a great weekend and I hope I can do the same for them in return. They are the best, and I am lucky to have them.