Celebrating birthdays...

Sunday, October 2, 2011

I had five siblings growing up and in our family, there was no such thing as dessert…except for our birthdays. For that reason, I always knew their birthdates and although I have trouble remembering dates as a rule, never forget those.

Which is why I remember today was Jim’s. My big brother would have been 59 today and I would have called him and asked him what he would be doing. It would have gone something like this. “Hey Joey…(his name is Jim, but he called me Joe and I called him Joey)…happy birthday. Doin’ anything?” He’d stop for a moment to think. “Thanks Joe. Yeah…goin’ golfing if this f&*king rain ever stops, then heading to the Club for a birthday tod,” he’d say. The ‘Club’ was the Perry Amvets where he walked every evening to gather with the locals, have a few beers, and then walk back home. He hadn’t drank and drove in over ten years…having learned his lesson the hard way. “Okay…well…you’re gonna’ be 60 next year and I think we should take the day off and go to Slyman’s for lunch. In fact, I think I should get the boys (our cousins in upstate NY) to come down for the occasion,” I’d say…and he’d agree.

Instead, I was home enjoying a gathering of my children to celebrate Heidi’s birthday. Savannah had driven back from Columbus…sacrificing a chance to see Ohio State lose to Michigan State…along with the others. Savannah and Heidi were sitting on the sofa in the family room watching home movies from on of their first birthdays and laughing hysterically at the adorable little girls from which they had morphed. I sat down to enjoy the movie with them…when suddenly my eyes started to tear up when I heard his voice…as I have almost every day since he passed. It was muffled and his face was never clear…kind of like the dreams I have so regularly…but there he was…on his birthday…just hanging around long enough for me to say ‘happy birthday, Joey’ which I did so the girls couldn’t hear. It’s funny how things happen sometimes.

I decided to run earlier in the day. It was going so easily that I went for 50 minutes, though I was feeling that ache in my lower back for the entire distance. It persisted for the rest of the day, making chores around the house difficult to perform. I also ate poorly. Holly had made peanut clusters, himmerschnitzen cookies, and banana nut cake and I had some of all of it. We’d had ribs for dinner, and I couldn’t get enough of them, either. Like I said a day ago…it’s the weight gaining season and I can do it with the best of them if I’m not careful.

Run workout: 50 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 750.