I had one sweeeet birthday.

10. Talked to Zack! Yippee!

9. The man and I have, I think, after 2+ years of being married, finally reached an agreement about the ring issue. I wear on the appropriate finger a ring he gave me, that my friend in Japan designed and made for me, for my birthday several years ago. He wears no jewelry at all and would prefer to keep it that way. We can’t afford any rings anyhow. And yet we have both thought there should be something. I think we finally settled on what that should be.

8. The asparagus has finally deigned to show itself. I spent a long, hard day getting that shit in the ground, and I was beginning to fear it would never respond to my ministrations. Finally! it has. Altogether, our garden is rocking. There are also many weeds growing in it that are edible, including two spinach relatives and one type of salsify. Yum.

7. T’s parents called me from Japan to wish me happy birthday. They have never previously done so, and they don’t usually call for T’s birthday either. I seriously doubt they will call for his birthday this year either. Anyway, it was nice of them.

6. My mom babysat the kid for us all afternoon and evening. My mom was thrilled; the kid was thrilled. We were able to see a movie (in a theater!) and have dinner (sushi!) and actual conversations that were uninterrupted by shrieks and howls and requests for me to, once again, sing “mata aeru hi made.” Wow, conversation with my husband. I had almost forgotten he was capable of speech.

5. Sushi for dinner. The sushi was pretty good, although the effect was somewhat dimmed by my husband’s commentary: “Why do Americans insist on putting avocado in sushi? Why do Americans put the nori inside the roll? This is powdered wasabi. Do Americans put the nori inside the roll so that it doesn’t stick to their teeth? Americans are really obsessed with their teeth. This soy sauce tastes strange.” And so forth.

4. My husband totally didn’t think I was insane when I launched into my theory of Japan and Japanese people. It was less pretentious than it sounds there. Indeed, he agreed with me and apparently came to the sudden realization that I had actually learned something during my three years there. He denied, however, that he would be completely miserable if we returned there as he contends that he didn’t care at all what other people thought of him when he lived there before, so why would he start now? He has a point.

3. A movie!! In a movie theater!! With the most excellent eye candy, George Clooney, even. How can he be so delightful and lovely and utterly perfect? How is such a person possible? Yes, the movie was Ocean’s 13, which is stylish and utterly without substance. It was fun, but I was really there for George. My husband, less impressed with George Clooney than I am for reasons that are understandable, found the movie baffling in its vapidity. I think if he were bisexual, he might have liked it better.

2. The long conversations with my husband today have demonstrated that I have not forgotten quite as much Japanese as I thought I had. It’s still there – at least, the grammar is. I forgot some key vocabulary items, but I can still use all the various types of conditionals appropriately. Sweet. I so totally rule.

1. The kid scrambled into bed with me this morning, sprawled himself out over my torso, and said, “I love you, mama.” That’s the best – that’s the absolute best thing ever.