Birthapaolooza Finale: The Birthday Hat

About a year ago, Tony brought Michael into our group of friends and Michael has not only given Tony immense happiness and love, but he also immediately fit right into our gang of neerdowells and we often ask ourselves where he's been our entire lives. In short, we love Michael.

One of the great things Michael has brought to us is the Birthday Hat. Michael is one of the most creative people I've ever known. If his gig as a social worker and counselor don't work out, he could make a killing as a hat designer. Those hats and fascinators at Kate Middleton's wedding are boring and understated in comparison to Michael's designs.

So far, we've celebrated 3 birthdays: Tony's, Christopher's and mine. Each of us received our own one-of-a-kind Birthday Hat that we wore with pride all evening long. Chris and I joined the 40 and Fabulous club this year and, as you'll see, we celebrated in style.

Let's take a look at the evolution of the hats:

Tony received the first hat in November. This expression is priceless. Somewhere there's a picture of me wearing Tony's hat with great amounts of Hat Envy.

Chris joined the 40 and Fabulous Club in April. Think his Birthday Hat is something? You should see the hat box. That was a work of art as well!

Me wearing Chris's Hat counting down the days til I'd have my own Birthday Hat.

Finally, I joined the 40 and Fabulous Club this week and was presented with my Birthday Hat on Saturday night. Unfortunately, you can't see the the black boa necklace that keeps it securely on my head because I'm also wearing a black shirt. I'm holding the Birthday Barbie that Wini gave me. Believe it or not, it's my first Barbie. Ever. Oh, and yes, my hat really is about 2 feet tall.

Birthapalooza is now in the history books and was truly memorable. I've got the greatest friends in the world and am blessed to have them in my life. Between the pre-celebration work event at the Mayne Stage on Wednesday with Bobcat Goldthwait, Thursday night's dinner and chocolate cake at the beach (my actual birthday), Ravinia on Friday, and my "surprise" birthday party last night, I'm exhausted. This old broad needs a nap. Someone wake me on Thursday.

50,000

Late last night, Little Merry Sunshine had its 50,000th visitor.

It took us 3 years, 9 months and five days to hit that milestone. And all I can say is WOW.

WOW.

50,000 people have read Little Merry Sunshine. For real.

When I started writing this little blog on July 1, 2007, I hoped someone would read it. Anyone. And I hoped that it would be read by someone other than my mom. That's not to say she couldn't read it (She does. Daily.), just that I wanted other people to read it too. And you do!

To misquote Sally Field, "You like me! You REALLY like me!"

In all seriousness, I'm so grateful to all of my Little Merry Sunshine readers. Thank you for coming back each day. Thank you for sending me texts saying "I haven't received LMS for a week or so. Is everything okay?" Thank you for telling me when I missed the mark and for telling me when I've nailed it. Thank you for being polite in our disagreements over politics. And to #50,000, I especially appreciate you for a million reasons. You've got the formula for being in all the significant places in my life and I'm grateful for it. :)

Feel that? That's me giving each of you a huge hug of gratitude.

Here's to the next 50,000!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss (aka Theodore Geisel)! I can only imagine the millions of children who grew up learning to read with your books and developing a lifelong love of reading because of you. I count myself among them.

We all have a favorite Dr. Seuss book that we can probably still recite from memory. Maybe it was The Cat in the Hat. Or Horton Hears A Who! Or One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. Or Green Eggs and Ham.

Actually Green Eggs and Ham is partially responsible for my complete (and slightly unreasonable) opposition to eggs and milk (unless they are well mixed into other things.

When I was about 7 or 8, my mom got up one St. Patrick's Day morning and decided to fix Dave and me green scrambled eggs and green milk a la Green Eggs and Ham. I took one look at this hideous looking meal and went to school hungry that day. Dave, who at the time was the pickiest eater in the entire world, ate it up eagerly. Heck, he probably ate mine too. To this day I still won't eat eggs in any form. To quote Green Eggs and Ham, "Not in a box. Not with a fox. Not in a house. Not with a mouse. I would not eat them here or there. I would not eat them anywhere. I would not eat green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-am."

My favorite Dr. Seuss book is Oh The Places You'll Go, which like most people I know, I received as a college graduation gift. This charming book reminds us that life isn't always easy and certainly has its share of adversity, but "there's fun to be done." I should probably go re-read it right about now.

But above all, my most favorite Dr. Seuss creation is his poem "My Uncle Terwilliger on the Art of Eating Popovers," (click the previous link to read President Hotchkiss's memory of how Dr. Seuss came to give the speech, which until the moment he was on stage, no one knew for sure he would give) which he wrote just for the Class of 1977 at Lake Forest College.

My Uncle Terwilliger on
the Art of Eating Popovers

My uncle ordered popovers
from the restaurant’s bill of fare.
And, when they were served,
he regarded them
with a penetrating stare…
Then he spoke great Words of Wisdom
as he sat there on that chair:
“To eat these things,”
said my uncle,
“you must exercise great care.
You may swallow down what’s solid…
BUT…
you must spit out the air!”

And…
as you partake of the world’s bill of fare,
that’s darned good advice to follow.
Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.
And be careful what you swallow.
—Dr. Seuss

There's even a stone commemorating this speech on the LFC campus that I stop to read each time I walk by it, which is actually fairly often.

In honor of Dr. Seuss, today I'm going to sit down and re-read Oh The Places You'll Go and whatever other Dr. Seuss books I may still have. How will you celebrate?