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Birthdays come once a year; good birthdays come few and far between. My 36th birthday was a great one. I took the day off work, thanks to my new boss and his attitude toward family time. My sister invited me and my toddler to join her family at Bonfante Gardens as my birthday present. I hadn't been to an amusement park in years and Nicholas had only experienced such things with his babysitter until today. It is indescribable the feeling of taking my own son on the carousel, finally. He got to drive a little fire-truck all by himself, run through the waterfalls, and we drove one of those bigger electric cars together. He had a great time there and slept all the way home.

In the afternoon, Nicholas and I took my niece to Cold Stone Creamery and I finally pried myself away from the all-chocolate/coffee/fudge types to get a banana/strawberry/brownie type of mixture. Nicholas and I played quietly in the backyard that evening until Daddy came home, which is our usual course of events; but Daddy and I went out to have dinner alone while Grandma and Grandpa took care of Nicholas. When we returned, my mom was putting candles in a cookies-n-cream cake I'd had my eye on at the grocery store and Nicholas was beside himself wanting to eat it. But he remembered how much he loves the Birthday song and belted it out with the rest of them, while I sat smiling in a silly jester hat my brother-in-law purchased at the amusement park mere hours before.

The following day was the bulk of my birthday fun, though. I had breakfast at Mimi's with the family, then got my hair cut and styled. It'd been about 2 years since I even got a trim and I am so happy with it. In the evening, my mom took me for a pedicure at the same place a friend took me last year because they still have the whirlpool spa there. It was heaven.

Best of all, my dear husband has been so wonderful. Birthdays are not his cup of tea, to put it lightly, so to hear him say "Happy Birthday" not once, but in so many ways, has made me all gushy inside. He gave me one of those Willow Tree figurines: the pregnant woman called "Cherish". I told him probably 3 times that it meant so much to me because this would be the last time I'll be pregnant. I really do cherish this time. He managed to get Nicholas to color a card for me, too, without my knowledge! He labeled the pictures as Nicholas told him what they were. Mostly, Nicholas was writing: "Nicholas", "I love you, Mommy" and "Happy Birthday". Oh, and he drew a couple of eyes. Life is good.

Learn more about this author, Marcy Yarbrough.
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