Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Numero 90

We hosted my grandma's 90th birthday party Sunday. It also happened to be Erica and I's very first wedding anniversary. We got back from vacation and quickly realized there was a lot (insert understatement) to get done. So what did we do? I made a list. Then what did we do? Got off our asses. Long story short, we accomplished more in 48 hours than we had in a month. We worked hard, got lucky in some cases and in the end celebrated with some family. I learned one thing and confirmed two others over the course of last week. One... lists help me organize my thoughts and there is nothing as satisfying as wiping to-do items off them. Two... I procrastinate. And finally, I learned that screwing down hinges is like David vs. Goliath. The tiny hinges with their 48 tiny screws wait to be fit snugly to the top of a window seat. Oh, that's what you'd like to think. Really, they have no intention of making the process so easy. It would be pointless to go into detail, but I'll just say that at 2am on Sunday morning I was ready to take a hatchet to those hinges.

I can't say enough about Clarabel Eleyet Alberts... and anyways, she wouldn't want me to. For me, she defines a generation; hard-working, humble, courteous, resourceful, respectful. The adjectives could go on and on. She proves to me that technology, after all these years has given us one useful thing; the ability to get to one another faster. She proves to me that it's better to sit on the front porch and talk than to watch TV in silence.

So we had a party for her in our TV-less house and no one seemed to notice... except when Joey Votto hit in two runs against LA in the top of the ninth inning. We tossed some bags full of corn, drank some beer, ate some cake, played with the kids and had a great day.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Alberts.