Today is a special day. It warrants an apple-raisin upside down cake, and a last-of-the-year evening dessert picnic.
After a rushed dinner (only so many daylight hours left!), we packed up the cake, the (thrifted) melamine plates and mugs, a thermos of hot tea, blanket, and frisbee.We marked a spot on a nice flat, grassy section of the park that surrounds ... ahem, the uh ... the "poop fountains." Otherwise known to the rest of the city as the waste-water management park. The grounds are manicured and green, complete with extravagant fountains and rolling hills. One almost doesn't pay attention to the fountain signs that warn of drinking or playing in the "valuable resource" that they recycle for our enjoyment. In the summer the children nearly hyperventilate from laughter when they spy non-sign-reading individuals swimming, even snorkeling, in the poop fountain. But, I horribly digress.
We nibbled our cake and drank our tea, gathered sticks and acorns, and even played a few rounds of cross-eyed tag. I'm not really sure what those rules are, but it is exceedingly entertaining to watch.
When the sunset gave way to the settling darkness, we packed up and remarked on the evening of perfection. Eating, playing, and a lot of giggling. A suitable ending for a special day.
Happy Birthday, Pops. You make us smile.(PS-And thank you for coming home and unclogging the kitchen sink for your late-night birthday entertainment. I'll never shove that many eggshells into the garbage disposal again. Promise.)
