My Old Man

Love, love, love my Dad!

Since Aaron doesn't know about this blog yet, I'm fairly certain that I can write about his birthday surprises here without ruining anything for him. And those of you who talk to him regularly, Shush!!! :)

Obviously this is a very big birthday (he's 30!!), so instead of one day of celebrating I'm doing a whole week. I'm making him nice dinners all week. Our menu is:

Monday: grilled London Broil and baked potatoes

Tuesday: veggie lasagna and sauteed cabbage w/ french bread

Wednesday: Texas Roadhouse, baby!!

Thursday: Chicken-on-a-Stick (Aaron's specialty) and balsamic vinegar kale

Friday: marinated flank steak and lemon butter grean beans

MMMMMM!

Also, each day this week he has and will be getting a gift, each one bigger and better than the last, with the finale on Friday (even though today is his actual birthday but I just can't resist a nice, long, suspenseful surprise!). Monday he got some Swedish Fish and gum. I was going to buy him Lottery tickets as a joke but the gas station I went to had run out, so I took that for a sign and didn't try again. Tuesday he got a Jack Johnson CD (can't think of the album title) which I think he likes. He'd mentioned that he has the same sort of smooth, California-jazzy sound as 311, which Aaron really enjoys. Today I'm getting him some wireless earphones for when he's jogging on the treadmill and doesn't want to turn the TV up too loud just to hear it. Tomorrow (Thursday) I'm going to present him with a gym membership form for the athletic club just down the road. He's really been doing well about getting some excercise everyday and was really excited to see how close the gym is to our new neighborhood. And finally, Friday is the big one. I'm giving him a note. This note:

This week your age in decades changed;

the 2 became a 3.

And now the time has come

to get your biggest gift from me.

It's something that you've wanted

for long enough, I guess.

And though I've told you "no" so far,

it's time you got a "yes".

You know, it's hard to find a rhyme

for Xbox or Playstation,

So for this particular verse

I had to use my imagination.

I hope it makes you happy now,

you're finally going to get it.

All I ask in return is that

you don't make me regret it!

Now some of you may be scratching your heads, thinking "Why would that be considered 'the big one'? Doesn't everyone have a game console??".

Let me 'splain: When Pyper was little Aaron discovered a computer game called "World of Warcraft". They became instant friends. And very very soon, they were more than just friends. He was obsessed. This is no exaggeration. He would spend every spare moment he could at the computer playing this online game which frustrated me to no end- until he finally got me to play. Can you guess what happened then? That's right- I got hooked. Both of us would play for hours upon hours at this stupid, money-wasting game because it was just too much dang fun! Then I got pregnant with Hakan and before long could barely reach the keyboard over my gigantic stomach. So, I was forced to break my habit. Aaron, however, continued his love affair with WOW. After about 2 years of this lunacy, he finally got tired of it and sold his account. FINALLY. We've been blissfully happy ever since! Well, not long ago he started expressing a desire to play video games again. Not computer ones, but console ones like with an Xbox or Playstation. NO! I didn't even have to think, the word just came out like vomit. He'd try again every now and then and he couldn't even finish a sentence before NO WAY! was shouted at him. Poor guy. He just wants a hobby. So, for the last couple of months I've been pretending to still be adamantly against allowing such an abomination to enter our lives again, all the while hoping he falls for it long enough so I can get him one for his big birthday. Genius? Mean? No, just sneaky. ;)