Monday, June 29, 2009

It's His Birthday

Over here at the Church of Batshit Crazy the services got very exciting yesterday. Mr. Moon finished up the biddie coop in the big coop while I made his chocolate layer dessert and some deviled eggs and then I got out in the garden and finished up some of what I'd spent six hours on the day before.
It was hot. My god, it was hot. Entirely too holy hot and too hot to eat and by the time I'd finished what I was doing and he'd finished what he was doing we were both exhausted and filthy. But what a great feeling.

While he was finishing up the coop I went out to check on the babies and determined that instead of eight chicks being in the box of death, there were only four. And Elmira was one of the missing. As was Buttercup. I freaked and yelled for Mr. Moon and he came trotting over and we found the little birds, sitting up in the jungle of canna lilies right by the box and we hunted them down and put them back in. I'd propped the box up a little to give them air and I now know that chickens can get out through very small spaces. So that was one adventure.

When the biddie coop was done, we moved them into their new coop. HoneyLuna was here to take pictures.

It's such an entirely clever little coop that Mr. Moon designed with a screened-in porch to prevent snakes from entering and a covered place with a tin roof on a hinge that we can lift up to get in to feed them and fill up their water container.

Here's me and Mr. Moon, arranging the furniture for the babies.

I was curious to see how the hens would take the presence of the new babies. Here they are, checking out the chicks:


Is that like the cutest thing you've ever seen? I spent thirty minutes on my knees watching this whole hens-meet-babies show.

By this time, the kids had arrived for the Dad's birthday cookout. It's Mr. Moon's birthday today and so we all gathered and May had brought marinated vegetables to skewer and grill (would you LOOK at those vegetables?!) and HoneyLuna brought meat to make into hamburgers for the carnivores among us and I made a little cucumber salad from the cukes in the garden and just as everything was ready to eat, the entertainment portion of the evening began.
It started thundering and lightening. My mother called to tell us there was a tornado headed our way. We went out to the back porch to watch the wind whipping the trees, the lightening slash the sky and feel the thunder rumble the very boards we were standing on. The rain began to fall from the heavens in sheets and curtains and torrents. It was, to say the least, dramatic.

And there were my baby chicks, their first time out of the house at night, and the biggest storm of the year was happening all around them. Mr. Moon and I decided to go out and get them but just as we were about to go outside, the biggest flash of lightening of all hit and the thunder was immediate and deafening.

Shit.

We ate dinner instead. And although it was delicious, I was too worried to enjoy it.
As soon as it calmed down enough, we went out to check on all our poultry and the babies were fine, huddled up on the straw in the covered portion of the coop but the big girls hadn't taken shelter in their coop and were piled on top of each other in the corner of the pen. They were in complete shock, I think, and let us pick them up and calm them and we put them in the coop and they stayed there, dazed and quite confused, I'm sure. But alive.

We went back to the house. The power was out by this time and Mr. Moon opened his presents by candlelight and blew out the candles on his dessert and we all ate it and it was good.
The kids cleaned up for us and then went home to their places where there was electricity and air-conditioning and Mr. Moon and I opened up the house and resigned ourselves to a hot, sticky night without even a fan but every time we'd fall asleep, the lights would come on and we'd get up to shut windows but by the time we'd get out to the mud room, the lights would go out again and we'd lay back down, only to have the whole cycle repeated again.

At exactly midnight, the power came on for good. 12-12-12 the clocks flashed, and they were right and it was Mr. Moon's birthday.

We finally got back to sleep laying in the sweet conditioned air, the windows closed to the frogs' chorus again, and the day was behind us.

Before I fell asleep I thought a lot about how much electricity has changed our lives and our attitudes. We think of it as a right, you know? It's our right to have lights and refrigerators and radios and computers and AIR CONDITIONING when the temperatures are in the nineties and the humidity is too. When it's not there, there is no other option but to submit to whatever nature brings us and believe me- nature can bring us plenty to worry about. Plenty to fret over, plenty to submit to.

I like to think of myself as tough but that storm and the ensuing heat brought me to my knees and yet- what to do but wait out the storm, lay my sweaty body down on the damp sheets and close my eyes?

Nothing.

Light a candle, sure, but no use to curse the darkness or the storm or the fate of the chickens.
We have a completely different mind-set about things, I believe, than people did a hundred years ago. I'm sure of it. And I wonder (as I always wonder) how this affects us in our minds, our bodies, our hearts.
Mr. Moon says I think too much about things. And I'm sure he's right. I over-analyze everything.
Storms and electrical outages and the meanings of chickens in our lives.

But I know one thing I do not over-analyze and that is this:
I am married to one of the best men on earth. It's his birthday today and I am thinking of his mother and father and how happy they must have been, fifty-five years ago today. Their son was born. Their third child, their only son. And they, as all parents, must have hoped such great hopes for that child. They must have dreamed great dreams for that baby boy. And because they were wonderful people and because they were incredibly loving parents, they raised that child up to be a man that any mother, any father would be so proud of.

I wish they were here to see him with his family around him in this life he's built for us with his two huge, strong hands, his smart head, his immense heart. They would appreciate how much their son loves his children, his wife. They would glow with pride and joy to know that Lily is going to be a mother soon herself. That their love is still visible in her; the spark is glowing so brightly.

Look. I don't have the words to say how much I love this man, my husband. All I can say is that he was born fifty-five years ago and I've been with him for almost twenty-six years and I want more, more, more.

I submitted to his love a long time ago. I did not look at that man and immediately think, "Oh yeah, he's the one for me." He was too tall, too happy, too eager to love me. I was too sick in my heart and my soul to accept that at face value. But something inside of me said, "Submit, you fool. You'll never have another chance like this again."

Thank every lucky star in the heavens I did because every day I find more reasons to love him. Do you know how rare that is? How precious?

And it's his birthday. And I am celebrating him. He got up at six and went to work out at the gym and now he's at work and I'm here in this house he bought me, keeping my eye on the chickens in the pen he built and I'm thinking about how lucky I am, how very, very lucky I am. And how lucky our kids are.

Look- here he is, holding the tiny, brave chicken he saved with Centrum Silver and sugar:

I love that man with all my heart.

Happy birthday, Mr. Moon. Thank-you for giving me the best years of your life.
So far.

Let's make whatever we have left even better.
Although I can hardly see how that can be. But you've always surpassed every expectation I've ever had- so maybe.

I look at that picture and I think of how it's going to be when we're in Mexico. How it's going to be when we're looking at our daughter hold her baby for the first time. How it's going to be every minute we're together for the rest of whatever and I think- really? We're going to get all of THAT when we already have this?

One never knows. One has to submit in this life to certain things.

I submit to your love, my husband. I do.

And I say Happy birthday, my hero, my brave, good man, my sweet tender lover, my children's father, my strength and my salvation.
Every day I love you more. Every year, more than that.
So let's keep getting older. Because that only means it's better.

I love you. Forever and ever, amen.
Your wife.

27 comments:

  1. Whoa! Sounds like a hell of a hootinanny! Veggie skewers, chicken coops, chocolate and a tornado AND candle light. Sorry we missed it this year.

    Many Happy Natal Day Returns Mr Moon!! We love you so.
    Your neighbors to the east.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Check out your muscle in that pic - I'm jealous :) And yes, happy birthday to mr moon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy birthday, Mr. Moon. Many, many, many, more!

    I sat here and read that post and looked at those fine, beautiful pictures and grinned and grinned.

    Love,

    SB

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ginger- And to you, sweet girl, even if it's a hard day.

    Ms. Fleur- Are you home yet?

    SJ- Are you sure you're not referring to Miss Maybelle's muscle?

    Ms. Bastard- That is our life. Hot, dirty and happy to be.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy Birthday to Mr. Moon! I do believe he is lucky to have Ms. Moon as well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yay dad! That was a good time last night. It took me nearly an hour to get home down Buck Lake Road. There were at least two big branches/trees down and cop cars everywhere.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy Birthday daddy! He is the bestest daddy in the whole world, until Jason becomes one anyway! I love you both so much. Thanks for all the good food and fun last night. Talk to you soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy birthday to the man who loves you; I believe you are BOTH so blessed.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I forgot to say that the first picture tripped me out. I though I was looking at two Mays in the same kitchen.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Steph- I hope he thinks so.

    DTG- More storms on the way this afternoon, I hear. Last night was fun, even if it was a bit of a different celebration from the usual.

    Lily- What a wonderful grandfather your baby is going to have! We love you so much. And Jason, too. And Kicker Bean. Oh, we love our Kicker Bean.

    Kori- We sure feel like it.

    Steph- Weird, huh?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Woop Ie Ay! It's Daddy's birthday!

    I love my daddy Moon so so so much, and I my mama Moon so so so much because she loves and appreciates my daddy so much, and it's all a big circle of love!

    Thanks again for the wonderful, and very strange and crazy, party last night.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love him too. Happy, happy birthday, Mr. Moon.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I swear, I would steal him away if I could. The things I could put him to work on at my house!!!

    Happy Birthday, Mr Moon!

    And holy shit, that was some lightening last night! I sat on my porch and watched it too. It was truely amazing weather! Isn't it so fun that we have the same weather, you and I? I always love hearing your take on it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. yes, i too marveled at the resemblance between may and ms moon. two beautiful ladies with their beautiful skewers.

    i pray that we all might reach this level of appreciation for the folks we call family.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yes she has the muscles too! :) I was talking the pic of you and mr moon arranging chick furniture! I really, really love your matching overalls :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sounds like an amazing party. Family, food and storms. Happy birthday, Mr. Moon.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Happy Birthday Mr. Moon, can't wait to meet you!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Happy Birthday, Mr. Moon!

    And you two are SO CUTE in your overalls, tending to your chicks :0)

    And yes, seeing those hens check out the chicks IS one of the cutest things ever :0)

    ReplyDelete
  19. HoneyLuna- Thank you for your help with the chickens and for everything, you sweet girl.

    Aunt Becky- Man, if I could only clone this guy...

    Lady Lemon- It was fierce, wasn't it?

    Adrienne- We're so damn lucky.

    SJ- We're funny, aren't we? Mr. Moon and I?

    XBox- I'll tell him you said so!

    Mwa- Ditto.

    Cozzie Laura- We're excited.

    Justme- I do love that picture of the hens checking out the babies. They were so curious.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh It was so much fun! Happy Birthday Daddy Glen! Thanks for bringing him into our lives, Mama.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Greetimgs Mistah and Missus Moon. Big Lou and I want to thank you for this oh-so-luverly birthday festivity - chicken - storm update. Dang, how we wish we could have been there with you all to celebrate the wonderfulness of Mistah Moon. We are clinking martini glasses right now in his honor and I do believe B. L. just left the sweetest singing birthday gram I've ever heard on yer man's cell. Tee hee. Love to you all... Maxine & Big Lou xo xo xo xo

    ReplyDelete
  22. P. S. That darlin' photo of you both is our new desktop wallpaper. Love it! M

    ReplyDelete
  23. Big Lou and Maxine- We could feel the love from here. Thanks. We miss you.

    Maggie- And amen again and again.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hey! My dad and Mr. Moon share a birthday. How nice.

    This post is just brimming with all kinds of wonderful tidbits!

    ReplyDelete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.