Birthday celebration

Well, another year has passed and I’m another year older. What was really nice about this year’s celebration was that it was very low key. I pretty much insisted that I did not want to do anything special and I know it was hard on Anna because she probably wanted to so something nice for me. It’s not as if I was being a grouch, but I figure I much rather she save her money for the wedding etc., and I’m planning on celebrating many, many more birthdays in the years to come so I’m sure we’ll make it up. She did surprise me by coming to the restaurant while I was working. It was a very pleasant surprise to see her there, and unbeknownst to me, she invited a number of people from church to join her. Brian, Kristi, Susan and Aaron who was in town for Fr. Jim’s retirement celebration were there. That was a very nice gesture. Anna even got me a balloon that said happy birthday and when one table that had a couple of kids saw that, they wanted to sing me happy birthday! How cute, right?! Those who were in the restaurant then knew that it was my birthday. I got to leave at 2PM and since it was a gorgeous day, I’m glad we got to spend some time outside. We made it to Anna’s best friend’s son’s first communion. There were some family member in attendance and he looked pretty snazzy in khakis and a jacket!

After that celebration, we headed over to St. Kate’s for Jim’s retirement celebration. You should have seen how many people were at St. Kate’s and how much food was served. It was a pot luck and there were more than enough food to feed everyone. The place was packed and a grand time was had by all in attendance. Different people represented different groups and paid tribute to Jim. Anna and I decided that we’ll do something for Jim during the summer when things aren’t as busy and he had more time on his hand. I know that he was definitely touched by all the nice and kind words that said to him.

That’s pretty much how Sunday went. Working my way back, on Saturday, the DM Symphony had its season finale concert and my oh my, was it just out of this world. The pianist was a world renowned pianist and has played in DM a number of times now since he’s a dear friend of the maestro. He played Tchaikovsky’s world renowned piano concerto and did he bring the house down. The piece itself is a masterful work, and it takes a special someone to bring out the best of it and did the pianist do that. Talk about a great way to end the season. Prior to the performance, Anna and I grabbed a quick dinner at Thai Flavors since we pretty much had forty five minutes to spare between the time Mass was done and the symphony. The food was good and we managed to eat our dinner and not be late.

After work on Friday, Anna and I went over to Joel and Kathy’s for dinner. That evening, Joel and I headed up to Ames to listen to the Australian Chamber Orchestra play. Dinner prior to the concert was the way to go for sure and we had more than ample food and wine. Talk about a great way to just spend a wonderful evening. The chamber orchestra was most definitely one of the best orchestras both of us have ever heard and their playing was just spot on. It was out of this world and they more than deserved their standing ovation. I’m just blown away by the caliber of music that makes it to this part of the country. Supposedly, the only other place that this orchestra would be playing is THE Carnegie Hall in NYC. Just imagine, of all the halls and cities they could play, they came to Ames. That’s mind blowing to say the least. I know that both Joel and I had a blast for sure.

The agency had an open house on Wednesday to celebrate our 35th anniversary and there were many people who came to the open house. A good number of them were our providers congratulating us for our years of service. There were friends of the agency who came too and everyone did a marvelous job just pitching in.

That was the week that went by. This week is definitely going to be more mellow for sure and that’s fine by me!