The Birthday That Never Ends

Woe, woe, woe. Woe is me. I have a heavy birthday upon my back, and I don't know how to get rid of it. Hopefully today will be the last I have to hear of it for almost a year.

As I mentioned before, I have been quite sick. I am still sick. April 1 will make two months exactly, with no end to the coughing in sight. At least I have my voice - Mom's has been missing since mid-February. (If you find a missing voice, please ship it to General Delivery, Westby, MT. COD is fine.) Nothing natural or traditional has been enough to finish off this terrible bug so far, though the hope of temperatures into the 40's may mean we can get a little sun and fresh air, instead of months of only going outside with every square inch of skin covered.

Still not great now, I was completely miserable on Devon's birthday. The poor thing was lucky to get supper at all, never mind a special birthday supper. And cake? Who can stomach the stuff? (Maybe one little boy who wasn't sick and didn't get any, but NOBODY ELSE, OKAY???)

Instead of having one modest party with a friend or two and some cousins, we have had an ongoing celebration for almost 6 weeks now, trying to help Devon feel less cheated about his birthday. In retrospect, I wish I had either crawled out of bed at the time, or just hired some entertainment. Since I didn't, we have done more for Devon's birthday over the last month-and-a-half than in the last five years rolled together.

Somewhere around five parties/occasions dedicated to Devon, and two cakes - three if you count all the cupcakes he got to take to the people at the nursing home, given in his honor. To (HOPEFULLY) bring the celebration to a final end for the whole rest of the year, Tina invited us out for a snow frolic, also in Devon's honor. 

It wasn't even a blizzard this time, just a strong east wind, that left Tina's driveway not only drifted, but completely filled in. Some places must have been at least 5 feet deep, right there in the middle of her driveway. Thus even the walk up to the house was fraught with adventure. 

No one else was around to see my ungainly, cautious waddle (thinking light thoughts) as I tried to cross the deep snow unscathed. No one was around to witness my hip-deep plunge at the very end, or to laugh as I finally had to roll down the hill to escape. No one was around to hear the increasingly shrill soprano cries as snow melted into all sorts of personal areas. And if any unkind persons bring up dolphins, I won't be held accountable. There are NO dolphins in the wild in Montana.

We took turns skiing, the first time I have ever had skis on my feet. Technically, they were only under my feet, since the toe clips were nowhere near big enough to fit over the toes of the huge boots I had borrowed from Jack. I really think that put me at a disadvantage, since I have always known I would have been very good at skiing, if only I had learned. First, I tried not to go too fast. Then I tried to go faster. Then I just tried not to get stuck, as the skis slowly sank farther and farther into the powdery whiteness.


Devon did quite well, 

and so did Laura, right up until the last moment, when both skis stopped and she kept going. With grace and beauty, she whirled and pirouetted before dropping into a drift. Rescue Dog Finley rushed to her aid.

After all of us were clumped with snow, soaked, and cold, it was time to go inside for hot chocolate - also in honor of Devon, of course - and get ready to go home. 

Devon, if you read this, your birthday is over. I have made up for being sick. Several times. There are no more presents. There are no more cakes. There are no more parties. Your birthday is O.V.E.R. You will have another one next year, but until then, there are No More Birthdays for you. Only for other people. 

I will leave all of you with one final image, that of Tina making a snow angel.

Tired from the adventure,

Noni Beth