the home stretch (so to speak) . . .
Well, it has been another roller coaster month. Many wonderful things happened during April but most certainly a few rain drops fell as well. There were four major events each with their own unique stories; official separation from work, turning 42, purchasing and moving into a new house, and being officially uninsured while Cobra takes its own sweet time in processing my payment.
April 1 started things off with my official separation from my former employer, Deloitte Services. Though I’ve been on Long Term Leave of Abscence for over a year now the official separation had a significant impact on me. While on LOA, I still had access to the Deloitte websites and email and was able to maintain my benefits at the group rates. It gave me a sense of belonging and attachment. On April 1 all ties were completely severed. What really struck me was that it was such a non-event. The paperwork had already been completed so there was no official letter, no phone calls, nothing but the passing of time of an otherwise normal day. The only people actually aware of the significance of the day were Donald, the H.R. rep., and me.
I was so frightened by the idea of being officially without a job and without the possibilities of ever having another one in the future. I was afraid of the financial stress that the month would bring to us while we weathered the Cobra gap in my health care coverage. I felt adrift, alone, and without purpose.
On April 2 I turned 42 ! Yes, that’s an exclamation point because I am proud to be getting older. Each year that I am able to increase the number on my age indicates another year that I have survived. Bring on the glorious 43, 45, 50, 60 ! I’ll march into those years with grace, gratitude, and hair color (I want to be older, not look it! HA!).
My birthday turned out to be a wonderful event. I was not much in the mood for celebrating but my family and friends made it very special for me. I had decided that I wanted to save money for a new stereo for the Camaro so I asked that my family and friends simply make contributions to that fund. The celebration actually began at the end of March while I was still in Florida with my family. The night before I was to return home my parents, siblings, Aunt Margaret, and cousin Jennifer (who just lost her father) surprised me with a cake (one of my new favorites by the way), a HUGE card that plays the Star Wars theme, and over half of the cash that I needed for the car stereo! My family is the best!!! It was a very typical event for my family. We are very close.
My sweet and wonderful partner, Donald was also busy setting up surprises for my birthday. In general, Donald doesn’t really care much about birthdays unless they are milestones like 40 or 50. He doesn’t usually like for me to plan parties or buy gifts for him. That being said, in the past I would plan and throw my own birthday parties. I didn’t mind as I’ve been throwing my own birthday parties since I turned 23. I enjoy putting it together and celebrating with my friends and family. So, this year Donald stepped way out of his comfort zone to try and make my 42nd birthday a special one. He set up a surprise lunch with two of my closest friends that I have not been able to see in quite some time. Unfortunately, they both came down with the flu and had to cancel. He also set up a dinner with some other friends that I’ve not been able to spend time with lately. They too had to cancel at the last minute. Poor Donald was so down that nothing was working out. It didn’t matter to me though because I was so thrilled that he had put so much thought and effort into my birthday. This was a perfect example of when it really was the thought that counted. However, all was not lost. We called our friends Pam and Karen and asked them to join us for dinner. Pam was the only one able to make it on such short notice and the three of us had a wonderful time! Pam gave me the cutest card and a very generous contribution to the stereo fund. Donald’s final surprise did work out for him. He presented me with a very nice and elaborate Karaoke machine. It plays from CD, DVD, iPod, and other input sources and has reverb and echo, and is totally portable. He gave it to me to encourage me to begin practicing my singing more to get my voice back into shape in hopes that I may one day be able to return to the stage. What a PRINCE!!!! It couldn’t have been more perfect.
A few days later Karen presented me with a slushy maker (YUMMMM) and a really great book about making sushi and egg rolls using untraditional ingredients like fruits. I can’t wait to try some of the recipes! I’ve also received numerous gifts to the stereo fund from many of my friends. I am a truly blessed man to have so many wonderful people in my life!
Well, that’s two down and only two to go. At the moment though I feel so good reliving my wonderful birthday that I don’t want to continue writing. So, as they say on T.V.:
To be continued . . .
May 7th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
And what a great birthday it indeed end up being! Even though most of us count the years as we get older I count the days that I’m with my wonderful man! Each passing day gives me hope that we’ll have many, many years together! At this moment, I probably have more of a chance of passing on to the next world/life from being involved in an auto accident (since most of you out there think I drive tooooooo fast anyway - poppycock!)!
YBSSD