I Don’t Feel 50

It’s Sunday, and usually that means a roundup. The weekend had different plans for me.

It happens that this is the week I turn 50, and while I don’t reference my age too often, I’ve mentioned my daughter, 14, and made other references that should make this no surprise to regular readers. But, I digress. I got a call yesterday morning from my best friend (I once saw a quote – a friend will help you move. Your best friend will help you move a body) and he asked for some help moving stuff. Generic boxes of garage items. No problem, I was planning to be out with just my wife and daughter to celebrate my birthday last night, and would write when I got home. As we finished moving things around, his wife calls and offers to bring pizza and cake to my house to celebrate my birthday, and I countered by inviting them to join us for the restaurant dinner.

I needed to get changed first and as we headed back to my house, I see cars on the street and a neighbor’s house really lit up, and figured they were having a party. Nothing unusual about that. I walk into my house to find it full of people. 40 people. My wife (Jane), daughter(Jane 2.0), best friend, his wife, and others all conspired to throw me an amazing party. Cousins from New York drove my mom up for the day, which was great as she’s not the best of travelers, a 4 hour car ride is tough.

My best friend and daughter gave speeches that both made me laugh and nearly move me to tears, and a great time was had by all. The thing that was so remarkable was what Jane went through to keep this secret. First, since she got her iPhone we turned on the tracking feature. If she were to misplace the phone, or have it stolen, we could track it down. More important, when we have to pick up Jane2.0 from some place, I can see who’s closer just by signing in. Not that I use it all the time, but it would have been awkward to track, and say find she’s at the local iParty store or caterer. She went to some extreme measures dropping her phone off at her mom’s or sister’s house to then run the party errands. Worse than this, we share credit card accounts, and I’d see a charge if I signed in the our main credit card as I often do. So for the purchases that were pay in advance, she has her sister charge the expense.

Mom and the New York Cousins stayed in town, and today was brunch and family time. Some exciting news to share later in the week, and back to a roundup on Sunday. Meanwhile, this week will bring a guest post and other financial thoughts I’ll plan to share. As the title said, funny, I don’t feel 50.