Recently I wrote about my history of rainy birthdays. My 34th Birthday did not disappoint. I told someone the other day that it rained on my birthday, and they said 'Oh, I'm sorry'. They really didn't understand why I was laughing.
I do have to say, if someone had an outdoor party planned for last Sunday; or a wedding or picnic; I feel badly for them. There was no saving any outdoor activity. Friday the weather people were saying that Sunday would be a nice, dry day. By Saturday morning, they had changed their tune. A storm to the south of the Capital District (The Albany, NY area) had changed its course. Originally, the weather people thought this storm would miss Albany. By Saturday morning, they said that Sunday would be a 'gulleywasher'. Which is a technical term for it's going to rain buckets!
It started raining Saturday night. Sunday morning when I woke up, there was a steady rain falling. I went downstairs, and mom and dad looked outside and said "Happy Birthday!" We had bacon, egg, & cheese sandwiches for breakfast. I rarely eat eggs. The only reason I have eggs in my house is for baking. But it tasted good.
The steady rain increased to a downpour. The downpour then got worse. There really are no words to describe it. It rained so hard during the morning that my dad kept putting off going to the transfer station. He had to take the trash and recycling to the transfer station, but it was raining so hard he couldn't get to the truck in the driveway without getting drenched. So we stayed indoors, watched tv, and just hung out. It was a welcome rest after our adventures in Boston. In the afternoon, we all watched the Yankee game.
Around mid-day, the rain stopped. The sun came out. Dad took off for the transfer station. And just as suddenly as it had stopped it started again. He came home, soaked. The transfer station is only about 3 minutes away. He went out to dig ditches along the driveway. The problem with living at the bottom of a mountain is that water runs downhill. Mom and Dad live next to a brook. Dad digs ditches along the road to divert the water into the brook, otherwise, it goes into their backyard, and in the worst cases ends up in their cellar. They do have a dirt floor in the cellar, so they don't need a sump pump. But you still don't want water getting into the furnace or hot water heater. When he came back in, he had to change his clothes because they were wringing wet.
You could look out the window, but you could not see anything outside. The rain was loud against the roof and windows. Dad told me 'This is just what you were born in'. They had so much rain, the weathermen had said they would cut their deficit for the year in half. At 3pm, there was another break in the weather. Mom and I decided to run up to Petersburg and visit Aunt Vera. It was not raining when we left the house, and by the time we turned onto Rt. 22, not two minutes later, it was raining hard again. Motorcyclists were pulled over on the road, putting their rain gear on. I don't think it helped them any. Aunt Vera was not home, so we went back to Mom's. By this time, it was raining so hard you couldn't see past the windshield. Mom was sitting up on the steering wheel, and was struggling to see the road. We were inching along on the highway, and we just kept thinking 'we're almost home'. Back in town, the culverts and ditches were overflowing. (Berlin doesn't have storm sewers.) Main Street sits up a little hill off of Rt. 22. The parking lot of the Seventh Day Baptist Church is gravel, and it was running down Main Street onto 22. I think the best way to describe the rain is Monsoon.
But my Birthday wasn't just about the rain. My brother in law shares the birthday. We all met at Lu A Hale, which is a Polynesian restaurant. I don't know if I have spelled the name correctly. We had a nice dinner. While we were waiting for Laura & Andy & Syd to get there, Dad told the waitress we had two birthdays to celebrate. So at the end of the dinner, the waitress brings out two little bowls, each had a lit candle in it. She wanted to know who the birthdays were, so everyone pointed out Andy & I. It was a dish of maraschino cherries, pineapple chunks, and whipped cream. Very odd. It was fine though, we were too stuffed to eat anything else.
After dinner, we went back to mom's for cake. Presents and cards were put in front of Andy & I. Sydney loves presents, so she asked me if she could help me. She tore into the cards, and ripped open the present. Once she saw what was in it, she moved onto her dad's cards. Mom & Dad bought me several books on their trip to Washington DC. And they did a great job, because I did not already have any of the books they bought. And of course, my main present was the plane ticket home to see everyone. Andy wanted money for the membership at the local fish & game club, so he had cards with money in them. Sydney saw the money and said "Can I have that for my piggy?" Andy told her no. But if her piggy had eaten that bill, it would have been full for weeks! :)
Laura & Andy went home, but Sydney spent the night with us. Mom had told her after cake & presents she needed a bath, so as soon as we were finished with them, she stripped down in the dining room and told everyone she was ready for a bath. She also said she wanted Aunt Amy to give her the bath! Aunt Amy has no experience giving little girls baths, but she trusted me. I washed her hair for her. It's longer than mine! And it is getting thicker, so she's going to have a lot of hair. I told her that I liked her curls, and she looked at me very seriously and said ''Well, you can't have them". When bath time was over, we went upstairs and played until bedtime.
Overall, 34 was a pretty good birthday. Here's hoping the year will be good!
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