Can You Keep a Secret?

Tomorrow is T’s birthday. His 40th. I wanted to do something special to celebrate. Something more than just dinner at a restaurant. But T was not up for anything exciting. Given that his birthday always falls right at the beginning of a new school year, he likes to keep things low-key. He’d much rather relax at home. Fine.

But since T was not going to go along with my ideas of a somewhat larger birthday celebration, I decided that yes, there will be presents this birthday. For the last few years, T and I have skipped presents for each other on birthdays and holidays. Money has been tight, and honestly, there usually isn’t much that we want or need. That is still the case this time around, however, I decided that a few simple gifts couldn’t hurt.

But what to buy for a guy who really doesn’t have many wants or needs? I asked Tiny and Buba what they wanted to get Daddy for his birthday, and they both shouted, “Meatballs!”- their response to almost every question these days (and not as funny as it was the first time). However, they did approve of a Sesame Street t-shirt that they saw in the Men’s department at Kohl’s, and I’m sure T will find it funny and will enjoy wearing in on weekends. Next, we picked up a new pair of shorts pajamas since T’s were completely worn out this summer (holes all over the place, and yet he still continues to wear them). I think he’ll like the style and with it being the end of summer, we got a very nice discount.

My final idea was to get a photo take nof me with the kids to frame for his desk at work. He’s always saying that he needs a photo at school to share with his students and colleagues when they ask about his family, so off to Sears we went. Tiny and Buba were so well behaved and cooperative (it was almost scary), and the photographer did a fantastic job. I’d still love to hire a professional photographer someday to do both portrait and candid photos of our family. But, for now, this will do.

Now, I just have to hope that Tiny and Buba can keep all these secrets to themselves until tomorrow. I tried explaining to them what it means to keep a secret and how surprised and happy Daddy will be when he sees everything we’ve done to wish him a happy birthday. So, all morning they were telling everyone we saw while we were out and about, “It’s a secret! Don’t tell Daddy!”