"37" Part One

Yesterday was my birthday.  I like celebrating with my family around, so we declared Sunday my "Pseudo Birthday" so we could spend the day together.

Before I tell you about how we celebrated, could I back up just a little?  Stay with me, because you'll likely wonder where this tale is going.

My very dear friend Tanya lives in Vineland, Ontario.  She lives in Ontario because many moons ago she fell madly in love with a boy from there.  This boy is now a man.  This man has a mom.  This mom is Grandma on the Farm.  A year or so ago, Grandma was celebrating a milestone birthday.  Instead of lavish gifts or a huge party, Grandma wanted her family to do something together to make life a little bit better for others.  Her kids and grand kids all got together and prepped and served food at a soup kitchen.  Her kids gave her some money which they wanted her to practice acts of kindness with.  Grandma doesn't need a lot of encouragement in this area.  She found some pretty neat stuff to do with the money, including walking through a grocery store until she found a tired mom with a full cart of groceries.  The groceries were on Grandma that day, and I doubt that tired mom will ever forget it!  What Grandma on the Farm really wanted was for her birthday celebration to spur other people on to do the same.  This past year, her Grandson Zack followed suit.  It made her pretty proud.

When I was thinking of how I wanted to spend my birthday this year, Grandma on the Farm came to mind.  I didn't have a lot of time to formulate a plan.  I did know that the Lower Mainland has been experiencing an unusually hot heat wave for this time of year.  I also knew that when it's hot, Slurpees taste really good.  So I proposed my plan to the girls and Mike over supper one night last week.  In lieu of a gift, I wanted us to fill up a cooler with Slurpees and head to the Downtown Eastside and pass them out. 

Sunday was hot.  Really hot.  I was thankful.

So off to Sev we went to fill up the Slurpee cups ...

I had the cooler near the front of the van with me as we drove down Hastings toward the DTES.  The girls wondered how we'd know who we wanted to pass the Slurpees out to, and I said - "when you see someone who looks hot and could use a break, let me know".  There is no shortage of people who fit this description in that neighborhood.  We turned off Hastings onto a side street just in time to see a few cops cuffing someone and leading him into their cruiser.  Turning the corner to round the block we came upon a group of women sitting against a building, looking for shade.  I rolled down the window and told them the Slurpees were on me for my birthday.  They came running.  Literally.  One after another.  All of the women said "Thank you", but one.  She said, "you're beautiful".  

As we drove away further toward downtown, the girls said "That was FUN" 
I agreed. 
Best birthday present ever.

The day wasn't over.  I got to pick the spot for my birthday supper, and I chose "Las Margaritas" in Kitsilano. 

Lime Margaritas, Corona, and delicious Mexican food...

.... followed by a little stroll down 4th Avenue with my favorite guy.

All capped off with lemon squares baked with love by Mike and girls.

It was a good day.