Year 2 Day 149 A Special Day

First, I wish to thank everybody who was kind and sent me special wishes on my birthday.  I am so touched to have so many people to take the time and make the effort to reach out and wish me a happy birthday.  That was really nice.  I also wish to thank all of you who were so very generous and donated to the charity I sponsored for my birthday.  It was Planned Parenthood, an organization that has done so much for the reproductive health of woman.  I know some people oppose this organization because if its stand on abortion rights, but that is just one small part of its program.  Whether one is for or against abortion rights, Planned Parenthood does so much more in helping women cope with reproductive issues.  These include: birth control and long-acting reversible contraception; emergency contraception; clinical breast examinations; cervical cancer screening; pregnancy testing and pregnancy options counseling; testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections; sex education; vasectomies; and LGBT services.

I set a goal of raising $200 and was so impressed that people donated $620 through this sponsorship.  Now, for all of you who were so generous to donate, please be sure to claim that donation on your taxes.  Even though I sponsored the charity, you get the tax benefit of your generosity!  Whoo Hoo!

My loving wife and life mate, Mary Margaret, baked me a birthday cake for today and it was my favorite: chocolate cake with chocolate butter frosting, covered with plump, juicy strawberries and with sliced strawberries swimming in the chocolate frosting between the two layers.  Oooooooh, it was soooo good!  The cake was so large, I am looking forward to having some for breakfast tomorrow!

We also celebrated my birthday by attending our niece’s son’s high school art show and ceremony.  Katharine’s son, Brendan, is graduating this year and the senior art students were recognized in a special ceremony and art show.  It was a treat to attend and Mary Margaret and I discovered how very talented he is.  His exhibit was a wall mural with various pieces of art displayed, all focused on the process of creating the art, not the individual pieces.

Brendan received another award during the ceremony as his dad, Morgan, arrived having just stepped off of a very long flight from Hong Kong.  Morgan works for the World Bank and was attending a series of overseas meetings.  However, he diverted his flight from Hong Kong to India so he could attend the art show and Brendan’s graduation this weekend.

We finished up the day by having a wonderful dinner with Mary Margaret’s sister, Lonie and her husband, Rich, at a French Belgium restaurant called Et Viola.  I spoiled myself with French onion soup, foie gras and a huge pot of steam mussels swimming in lobster bisque.  Yum!

Tomorrow, we get to meet up with another one of our niece’s, Katie.  She is my brother Don’s daughter.  We last saw Katie at her sister, Sarah’s, wedding back in 2015.  We are looking forward to seeing her again.

As a closing note, I wish to share that Michael’s brother (Michael is our daughter, Christina’s, husband) Nate and his wife Katie, had a baby girl today.  Whoo Hoo!  Little Mecaslin Rose…6lbs 5ozs, 20″ long, chose this special day to join the family.  Now that is a very special birthday present!