Halfway Through a Decade

      4 Comments on Halfway Through a Decade

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I know I have been noticeably absent these last few weeks, but I did have good reason. I was recovering from that miserable head cold, which took more than two weeks by the way,  and then on top of that, we were just damn busy. Two kids in football  and hockey is just  a total time sucker.  I did try; I actually had a post written up about a week ago, but I never got around to putting together the pictures it required, and therefore didn’t get published.   I might go back and post it later, with a past date, just to have a record of it.

But  today required its own post. Why?   Because it’s my birthday, dammit!   Few people know how to celebrate a birthday like me.  😉  Sadly, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to top last year, when I ran a 10K in a crown, sash, and tutu.  Yeah, that was pretty awesome.   I seem to have a habit of crowns on my birthday.

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But I did do something pretty cool last week, that certainly helps make both my 45th birthday and, especially, my husband’s 20th anniversary at work, very memorable. 🙂

I haven’t specifically mentioned it before, but what the hell: my husband works  as a paramedic for the city of Detroit.  You might recall that the city of Detroit has had its fair share of negative press in the last few years, most notably by becoming infamous  for being the first large municipality to file for bankruptcy.   Yeah, that’s kind of crappy when you’re an employee of that municipality.  Not to mention, being a paramedic in a large city is very difficult, not because of the stress of saving people’s lives, but more because people are idiots sometimes.

At my job, when you have 20 years in, you get a party, a gift, a cake, and a certificate.  The city, however, does nothing. And I mean literally nothing.  The city  sees no need to celebrate such a milestone. But lucky for my husband, his wife does.  😉

Months ago, I had this crazy idea that I should do something to mark his big day. I decided to get him a cake and a small gift. But just giving it to him wasn’t enough, I had to give it to him AT work. And of course, if I was going to make a big deal about his anniversary, I had to bring the boys. So I exchanged covert text messages with his partner, quietly ordered a cake, and got the kids up super early to meet him at his firehouse at 7 AM, the time he gets off work.


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But I didn’t stop there. Most companies at least give you a certificate when you hit 20 years, right? I thought about making up a cheesy certificate, but then I decided, “Go big or go home.” 😉 So, I sent a letter to Dennis Archer, who was mayor of Detroit on the day Jason started (and who Jason actually got to meet once at a hospital). I asked him if he would have his secretary write up a short note of congratulations for me to present to my husband on his 20th anniversary. To my surprise, the former mayor not only sent a letter, he invited us to come down to his law offices in Detroit to meet him and have a picture taken! The stars aligned and I was able to schedule it for his actual anniversary date. All four of us went up to the 40th floor of the building where the mayor currently has law offices and took pictures with him. Afterwards, we had a nice chat.

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In the second picture, they are holding a framed copy of the letter the mayor originally sent, along with a picture of Jason in his dress uniform.

The mayor is simply an amazing person, and by the way, he is also a hockey fan! 🙂 I know my husband was embarrassed over all the attention, but the truth is, he does a difficult and dangerous job, with not nearly enough thanks. He is a hero to his sons and especially to me, and he deserves recognition for all that he does. <3  And I think it was a great way to “pre-celebrate” my 45th birthday.  And you know I’m all about the birthdays. 😉

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That’s me at 40. 🙂

 

As I turn 45, I will say that I’m not exactly where I want to be, healthwise.  I’m about 6 pounds above goal, and more than 13 pounds above my lowest weight.  But, as I look back on the last five years since I turned 40 (with my usual enthusiasm, as displayed above), I can say that I am absolutely a better, healthier, and yes, even more enthusiastic person now than I was then.  Besides being 25 pounds lighter than I was at 40, I’ve also become so much more active.  If you had told that pie-loving girl above that she’d run a dozen or more 10ks, 7 half- marathons, and even two full marathons, she would have laughed in your face.  😉  Now I laugh because I know I’m not even close to being done. 😀

Thanks for helping me celebrate my 45th birthday–I promise, the best is yet to come!

Edited 10/5/16 to add: Seriously. If you didn’t already have enough evidence to convince you that my husband is pretty amazing, last night after I wrote this post, he called to nonchalantly tell me, “I’m going to be on the news later.” When I asked what for, he replied, “A couple of days ago, I helped pull a guy from a burning car.” 😮

http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/detroit-paramedics-rescue-man-from-burning-car

4 thoughts on “Halfway Through a Decade

  1. Cindy R

    Happy Birthday! Have a terrific, love-filled year in all that you do! I have to say your uplifting post brought tears to my eyes. Congratulations to your husband on 20 years as a paramedic with the City of Detroit! It takes a really special person to be a paramedic and he deserves all of the surprise recognition he received from you, your children, and the ex-mayor of Detroit! Congratulations Jason on 20 years as an EMS!!! God Bless.

    Reply
  2. Mary N

    What a great anniversary celebration for Jason! Happy Birthday to you and hope the next year(s) bring much happiness and fulfillment to you all!

    Reply
    1. steph Post author

      Thanks, Mary! The whole thing came off much better than I could have ever anticipated. 🙂 Thanks for commenting!

      Reply

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