My birthday didn’t start out well.

To begin with, it fell on a Monday this year, which is not a day known for its devil-may-care attitude or raucous parties.

It had been raining, and cloudy, and raining for days.

The Saturday just prior, I attended my last grandmother’s funeral…in the rain.

My lovely, shy Nana

Her life lesson from beyond the grave: let people take your goddamn picture every once in a while, or else your family will be forced to use your 20+ year old Glamour Shot, because no more recent photo could be located.

Then, back to birthday Monday, I waited with KK while she had her sprained wrist x-rayed, then drove us all over, in rush hour traffic, to get a part for the pool pump that had broken Sunday evening.

And they accidentally kept her credit card, and we had to go back and get it (hurry! in rush hour!) because they closed at 6pm.

And we found out this morning that it wasn’t even the right part. But I digress.

On the way back from the pool store, KK reminded me that the iPad mini she’d ordered for my birthday wouldn’t arrive for another week. (Joy.) This time, she let slip that she was having it engraved — something I’ve never had done before.

Before I could stop my morbid self, I said, “But that means I won’t be able to resell it.”

The Apple ladder is how I’ve managed to afford my last iPhone, and I’m planning to sell my iPad 1 (practically an antique!) to pay for most of the Mini. It’s how we not-richies get the goods, right?

So then KK got on the phone and tried to cancel the order.

She tried to return the only birthday present I knew I was getting, before I even got it.

I might have cried, there in the interminable rush hour gridlock.

Luckily, they wouldn’t let her cancel the order. I think they said she’d have to wait and return it? But by then, I can throw my body over it to stop her from doing so.

When we finally got home, I started making dinner, and KK went to run some “top-secret birthday errands.”

I really didn’t want her to go. I was so afraid she’d come back with some balloons or something so obviously last-minute, back-up birthdayish, and I’d have to pretend to be cheered by it, but really, it would just be that much more depressing. Right?

I needn’t have worried. (When will I learn?)

First, my bacon-hating sweetheart showed up with this card and present.

And an armful of these, so I got to play Miss America right in my own living room. Bra-less and tear-stained, but I got the wave down pat.

They even SMELL good!

While I put the finishing touches on dinner, she turned the bouquet into this.

My latest addiction is the rice krispie treats that Publix sells in their bakery (BOGO this week, yo!). I ate a box a few days ago, and right before KK went to run errands, I asked her to bring me two more boxes (while they’re still on sale, of course).

Even so, I was surprised when I asked where she’d put the krispies, and she handed me this instead.

And then she said, “I bought all the krispies the store had.”

It was only 3 boxes, but isn’t that the most romantic thing to hear?!

Birthday Part 2 will take place this weekend, with all the best Pals (on Saturday) and the parents (on Sunday). I know we’re going to have a blast, and I needn’t have worried, etc etc. Even so, it was really lovely to let KK save the day in a way that only she can.