Our Newfs are happy and loving Newfs, as are most, but this morning they seemed happier and more loving than usual. They were lined up for hugs and wanted to share long, lingering hugs, Parker waiting to let his little sister go first. Parker knows a lot of the days that we celebrate, Saturdays, Fridays and pre-Fridays, Christmas and Thanksgiving, and he seems to be aware of a couple of others. But I don’t know if he knows his birthday. We talk about it, but that doesn’t seem to be one that he is independently aware of, so he must not know how important it is to us.
Yesterday I had to be in Springfield, so I took advantage of that to do some more toy-shopping. I found a cute little chattering Elmo, and I picked up an asiago cheese bagel for him from Panera (his favorite, along with Shake’s ice cream, fried chicken, steak and El Charro treats). We have some vanilla ice cream in the freezer too. It promises to be a joyous occasion!
This morning, I wasn’t the only one offering birthday gifts. The Newfs woke up to snow on the ground and more falling. What a wonderful gift! It was supposed to snow yesterday, and after the encounter with black ice on a bridge last week, I wasn’t looking forward to driving back in bad weather. I was grimacing about it internally and verbally. However, the snow didn’t arrive, even by the time we went to bed. And now that it is today, being Parker’s birthday, and snow is a joy for the Newfs, it is a welcome change. How wonderful! The Newfs came back in wearing “diamonds on the soles of their shoes” – tiny little balls of ice.
I called Greg to visit with him about some questions and while I was waiting, the on-hold radio came on, and I’m not joking about this: it was the Happy Birthday song!
Then I started the laptop, and opened Google. The artwork was intriguing, so I double-clicked on the banner to see what it was about. (Yes, Parker was born on Inauguration Day) It was about JFK’s inauguration speech. Here is a link to a video: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkinaugural2.htm That is a powerful motivation for integrity and for reaching to be better outside of perceived limitations. [And thanks to all the Peace Corps volunteers! What a wonderful principle!] What a good tribute to Parker, too, who values how others feel, whose love and generosity would be exceptional traits for a human, but are consistent with the Newfoundland character.
9 years ago today, a new joy was born. He was the last one out the chute, weighing a mere 1 lb. 9 oz. At our house, his birthday is something we celebrate!
Happy Birthday to Parker and Happy Pre-Friday to everyone else!
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