Geoff gets his little Volvo

Despite his boyish appearance, it is true that Geoff is getting older.

Fact: on June 1, Geoff will turn 37.

37 is exactly three years older than the age my mother claimed to be for at least 5 years of my childhood.

At a fresh 31 (- OK - 32 is soon approaching, but it is all the same), the number 37 seems very mature, indeed. Then you see Geoff and he opens his mouth, and every concept I ever had of "37" dissolves. Geoff makes 37 look cool.

So, to commemorate this special occasion (after all, even Mozart only made it to 36 and the average life span of rockers is 36.9), I decided to do something really special: I had Geoff's Volvo shipped out to Cally.

This is not your mother's Volvo. This is a 1968 Volvo 1800S, a little army green sports car with fins in the back that is low enough to the ground for even my short self to wipe clean its little aging roof. It belonged to Geoff's Papa (that's Southern for grandfather), who bought it new and gifted it to Geoff on the occasion of his med school graduation.

In Winston, Geoff would drive it to the hospital or around the block. The cab reeks of gasoline, none of the gauges or dials work, the A/C is nonfunctional, and all of the original upholstery was bolstered by Papa's handiwork, giving it an appearance reminiscent of Frankenstein meets family quilt. I have to confess that I still don't see the point, but G loves this little car.

When we moved out west, we weren't in a position to bring the Volvo. My godfather Steve, an old car enthusiast himself, offered to look after the little Volvo and drive it once a week so it wouldn't fall into a petrified demise. Now he and Naila are moving, so they don't have room for the Volvo anymore. Plus G wouldn't stop asking for his little car. I still don't get it, but it is, after all, a great occasion.

So, for Geoff's 37th birthday, with the help of his parents and Steve, I had the little Volvo shipped out here as a big surprise.

This morning Henry and Larry (the truck drivers) called to say they were here! While G was gone, they drove the little car into his spot in the garage. I washed it and fixed the air conditioner, which was hanging from one screw on the right (darn thing doesn't work anyway, but even if it doesn't cool, at least it looks cool). I looked around for one of those giant auto ribbons. We were out. So, I adorned the old guy with creme and gold craft ribbons tied in bows. Then I added a big happy birthday sign. It was like dressing Gene Simmons in a tutu. I was super excited.

I was so afraid I was going to miss the big unveiling because I had to work late, but G luckily had to work later. I cleaned the house and waited. Finally, he arrived. Mishka and I waited, poised with the camera to capture his reaction. Amazingly, though, he paused the car in front of the garage but didn't open it. I waited patiently, but he didn't open it. (He was looking up something in his manual, which should be herald enough that old age is around the corner.)

Finally, I popped out the front door to beckon him to put the car in the car hole, already, then I ran back to assume my post as paparazzi.

VOILA!!!

He was surprised and happy. Maybe not the overwhelmingly ecstatic Miss America reaction one might crave, but I know Geoff well enough by now that that's all his body will produce. And, after all, he's 37....

it is time to let up and give the old boy a break.

5-second catch-up

pink eye's gone...thank GOD. it lasted FOREVER but i managed to infect no one. still sure g was the one who gave me the virus in the first place.

mommy came for a long weekend - great fun. we packed a whole week into 4 days. should post photos soon.

we just bought a new high-efficiency washer which will arrive tomorrow and is really exciting because the one we have doesn't clean worth a damn. this new one has a great energy star rating so we can feel good about ourselves, too

tony cari rylee and wesli are coming - YIPPEEEE! we have lots of fun things planned! i went shopping yesterday in preparation and was weirded out by buying diapers and gerber (had to call geoff to find out which "stage" to buy). funnily enough, my cart also contained 14 bottles of wine-

geoff gets older june 1 and our anniversary is june 3, so we'll be headed up the california coast with the pooch on a wine and coast tour. if anyone has any recommendations for vineyards to visit, please pass them along. right now our tutor is the movie sideways

ok, gotta go - g is plating our dinner. pottery was fun tonight. i made a big pot then put tentacles on it.