Cindy's Birthday 2013

It's funny seeing the other cards Cindy gets this time of year. Her friends overtly commenting about sagging boobs, wrinkles, gray hair, drinking excessively, and chasing younger men. Being her spouse, I don't get such privileges. In fact, I have to walk this crazy line of being too serious and not serious enough. Quite unpleasant, to be honest, but fortunately it only happens once a year.

I usually try to defuse the conflict of aging plus two decades of stale romance by dusting humor over an attempt at classic love notes. The card was a Victorian lady in full royal attire saying, "These Spanx are killing me." And inside I quoted The Bard:

"To me, fair bride, you never can be old,
For as you were when first your eye I eye’d,
Such seems your beauty still."

For good measure, threw in a gift certificate for an hour massage as well as some muted red Rachael Ray stoneware. Combination seemed to work. Either she liked it or Cindy's a far better actress than the media paints her to be. What do those critics know, anyway? Right?

Lunched with the whole family (rare for a weekday! But the kids were off, she was off, and I cut out of work to eat) at Shaggy's, in Biloxi. Kids had some really nummy chicken tenders. I had a pulled pork sammich. And Birthday Girl had some fish tacos that didn't meet her approval. Lack of booze wasn't welcomed. But a necessity. And we didn't notify our server of the occasion because Cindy would have stabbed me in the eye with a salad fork if I had publicly aired mention of her birthday.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I have the first triathlon of the season, tomorrow morning. I'll be in bed early. Cindy will be in bed late. Won't be any additional celebrations. But I think she enjoyed everything I put together for her. I tried, at least. If not, her disappointment will have to sit between us, for another year.