Staycation and Birthday

We were supposed to be in Door County this week. Which in itself had been already rescheduled once and was a distraction from going anywhere...more exotic. But when it came time to, with covid levels and not knowing about if we had to quarantine when going out of state, and work, and school prep stuff for Beatrix, and expense (with a cat whose health has cost thousands of dollars), we just could not do it.

So we stuck with me working mornings and then Staycation.

Monday we went to the beach at Lake Harriet (that did not last long, it was hot!), and a vintage store for Beatrix, and went on a lovely walk at Kaposia with our friends Siobhan and Megan and Brogan.

Tuesday we did another beach encounter and went to Excelsior and shopped and ate lunch on the water (just like being on the coast!) and had awesome photos taken by the amazing Amanda Nesgood with our soon-to-be-donated Trucky Truck.

Yesterday we went to St. Peter to visit Zani. That night, we went to dinner at the Lex; Beatrix has a terrible fear of needles and so when she was vaccinated Patrick told her she could have dinner wherever she wanted, and so she picked there. I am pretty sure we could get the whole state vaccinated if it included dinner at the Lex.

Here's Beatrix's summary of the day:

Today was my birthday. I had meetings and work at circus, and a board meeting, so basically I was not expecting much at all, and so many people made it amazing. From gifts waiting at my desk, to P&B showing up with treats from Mark Heu, to  award form my workmates, to my big gift which was Patrick redoing our countertops (as a TOTAL surprise), it was amazing.

Even better were the many notes and posts during the day, and especially my amazing friend Kate who dropped the MOST DELICIOUS carepackage at my front door.

But perhaps most important of all was the fact that I knew I did not need others to make the day special for me. Patrick and Beatrix did amazingly, and all the love was wonderful. But in the end, I was in charge of my day, and taking a break in the hammock between meetings, and taking myself out to a beer after my board meeting tonight, and reading, and now sitting on the porch typing this. It's a reminder that the people I know are SO crucial in my life; but in the end, it's up to me to make it what I want. It's a really good reminder in what could have been a sucky birthday. I am very lucky.