Anyway, made it through The Wife's birthday. It's hard to claim that one's spouse's birthday "snuck up on you" but it sure seemed that way this year. Maybe it's that going-out-of-town stuff, maybe it's the general funk I've been in, but whatever it was, I was just not ready for her birthday this year. It did not help that, up until last week, the best she could come up with as a suggestion about what she'd like for a present was an Orek vacuum cleaner (I told her I just couldn't do that for a birthday gift!). So, she then came up with this list of "mid-life crisis" things, facial, make-up consult, fitness consult, etc., etc., that she'd like. It took me pretty much all week (given my truncated days running The Girls around on their summer schedule) to get that stuff lined up, but everything was good to go by this morning, but I'd still not come up with any bright ideas for her birthday dinner.
When we were in Columbus a few weeks ago, the big dinner when we got together with her family was at a Joe's Crab Shack there, and we'd liked the food, and The Girls seemed happy with it, so I'd floated the idea of us trying out their place here. While not fancy, it does have the advantage of being immune to most of the "insults ot decorum" that out 4- and 8-year-old could throw at it. Fortunately, I was able to score two toys out of the "claw machine" (despite it being one with almost no "grip") while we were waiting for a table, which gave them something to fixate on during dinner.
Anyway, I am relieved that this is over and The Wife is happy ... these sorts of things can be such emotional mine fields!