Backside of 40, Summer of 2017

Bought myself some "cup cookies" to share at work

I woke up this morning at 5:51. The window near my head was open for the storms and cooler wind last night. I should have closed it for today's heat, but I forgot.

Vodka and a card from the
boss at Bo Ling's lunch

Ed quickly wished me happy birthday, and gave me a bear hug. I joined him in the kitchen to make lunch for the boys and coffee for us. I ended up mostly washing dishes and fruit.

I love bringing my boys their milk in the mornings. This is a guilty pleasure we have, a holdover from our nurturing days when they were infants. They still get warm milk in bed each morning, though now it's flavored - rabbit (strawberry) for Jonas, chocolate for Gill. They drink out of sippee cups and remind me of little calves drinking thirstily from a bottle.

The morning progressed well past an early scuffle between boys over accidental injuries when I asked Jonas to wake Gill up. Ed jacked up Bruno Mars' "24 Carat"  to get us over the hump. Jonas, you pay attention to lyrics and kept pointing out bad words until I finally said, in exasperation, "Bruno Mars just has a potty mouth Jonas. Deal with it."

Ed and Jonas set off walking to school while Gill and I headed to McClains for danish. I got ham and cheese while Gill got his regular cheese. A dozen cup cookies seemed like a good thing to share with others on my special day.

 A surprise birthday banner from a couple of fun co-workers

About the walking to school, this has been an exciting (and perhaps stressful though it's hard to tell) transition for Jonas. For me, it's been sad and stressful. I am awed and excited about how he has met this challenge head on with no reservation. He wakes up eagerly in the morning, is motivated, and out the door by 7:30 or so. School starts at 8:15 and it only takes 15 minutes to walk there. I worry about you crossing the busy streets - Main, Rockhill, and Oak. Though there are crosswalks at Rockhill and Oak, cars won't stop, not even for kids in a school zone!

The empty sushi boat

I walked around the SOE handing out cookies. My phone has been buzzing all morning with happy birthday texts. There was a birthday card from the UMKC Foundation staff, plus Lydia Allen and Helen LaValley, and a box from Noni. Tonight, we hope to head to Jun's for sushi and then a backyard movie. I hope I get to pick it!

A few things that surprised me on my birthday: google creates a "birthday candle" search that says "Happy Birthday Shelly" on it when you hover over it. Fun! I received email birthday wishes from my podiatrist, dermatologist, State Farm agent, and various women's clothing stores. (I think that's so bizarre!)

Dinner at Jun's with Xye and Grace was a perfect end to the day!