Jim’s 80th birthday was Thursday. We had talked about doing something extra special in 2026 when I hit 75 and he hit 80 … a trip to Hawaii, perhaps … or maybe even Italy! It was fun thinking about what we might decide to do … until he got so sick and we just took life one day at a time. No birthday celebration last year. And then he was gone.
Facebook, of course, had to share with me all of the photos of how we have spent his previous birthdays. Those memories can sometimes be really difficult to see, but I loved seeing Jim’s smile.
So this year on his birthday I figured I’d just spend it here in the house like I do most days … watching Lucky Dog and Dog Whisperer shows with my Sheila and binge watching some tv shows while she napped (which she seems to be doing a lot now that she’s 10).
But I actually ended up having a quite wonderful day with an old work friend. We both worked for the same boss back in the day and lost touch with one another after I retired. We reconnected last year at a co-worker’s retirement and I’ve met her in Vegas for lunch or a show a few times. She wanted to schedule a day to come out to Pahrump to visit a cute little furniture store she had heard about, to have lunch at Charleston Peak Winery and get a ‘tour’ of my town (that made me laugh, Pahrump is known mostly for legal brothels and several massive fireworks stores), . Our lunch landed on Jim’ birthday, which was serendipity, I think. We didn’t find any furniture but I did a drive by of those brothels … and our time at the winery was really lovely. Lots of catching up and exactly what I needed to be doing on that day.
And I guess last week’s blog post put my need for some kind of creative journaling experience out into the universe because an online 5-day course called ‘Grief to Grace’ popped into my Facebook feed and has opened that door for me. It has allowed me to face some of the fears and hurts head on. To write down the ugly and express those feelings with paints and words and collage. It’s just for me, so it’s safe to be totally honest. And writing those words out does seem to take away their power. This work is giving me much-needed peace.
And it’s also encouraging me to get my butt off the recliner and get my art/craft supplies better organized. I had been using our travel trailer as my art workshop and when I sold it I had to box up all of that stuff and store it in the garage. Where it still sits mostly untouched … I did start digging through it to find my watercolors and sketch books and papers and glue so I could do this current workshop. It’s a start.
Addendum … so I’m feeling a bit guilty for shaming my current town. While the town itself isn’t like the small towns I’m used to in Michigan (with a downtown area you can walk around) there are a lot of really interesting places in and not too far from Pahrump. We have the Death Valley Marketplace and Spring Mountain Motor Resort and we’re a gateway to Death Valley National Park. A day trip to Ash Meadows, Amargosa or the China Ranch Date Farm is well worth the drive.
