Tomorrow, my mom and dad will celebrate their 54th anniversary. That means, they were married in 1969.
Thank goodness for Google as I can learn more about that day in history:
So, it was a Thursday. Ok, mom and dad, why a Thursday and not a Saturday or Sunday? Oh wow, Mariah Carey was born that day. They probably have no clue who she is. The number 1 song in the USA was Dizzy by Tommy Roe and the number 1 song in the UK was I Heard it Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye.
Those are really good songs, as I love the music from the 1960’s. The oldies station was always playing in the car when I was younger. That is very likely why my favorite band is The Beatles. My first CDs I purchased were Frat Rock and Toga Rock II which were full of lots of really awesome oldie’s music, and I purchased them when I was 13 years old along with a box set of all The Beatles albums. If my favorite band wasn’t The Beatles, it would definitely be one of the Motown groups or The Rolling Stones.
We actually celebrated on Saturday, as they wanted to have lunch. Yeah, my family likes combining celebrations with food, and I do that as well. Remember several blogs ago, where I mentioned I study the menus of restaurants, well, I did that again as I just like to be prepared. Even though I knew it was Mexican food, I still had to look. As for Mexican food, I am pretty easy to satisfy as I love breakfast tacos, chips and salsa or queso, tortillas, tortilla soup, fajitas, rice, and cheese enchiladas. Notice I didn’t mention beans. I always say no beans, double rice if my plate comes with beans.
We almost didn’t make it for lunch as Niko woke up at 1:30 am because he started coughing. When he gets up in the middle of the night, I take care of him as it’s much easier for me to go back to sleep whereas it would take Nina a few hours to get back to sleep. Also, when he gets up for good in the morning, I am awake with him. That gives Nina a few extra minutes of sleep, because I know it also takes her a while to fall asleep to begin with.
So, back to 1:30 am…
We got fresh water from the fridge and a quick pee. And, then back to bed. But he woke up again a few minutes later because of more coughing and he got some snot on his pillowcase. I got him a new pillowcase, made him drink water, and another quick pee. And, then back to bed. But he woke up again a few minutes later because of more coughing and snot on his pillowcase again. I got him a new pillowcase again, made him drink water again, and another quick pee. And, then back to bed which I think was around 3:00 am. Basically, me and him were awake during that time and the cat was super happy to see us as well. Oh, Niko really wanted to wake Nina up and I was like no, we need to let her sleep. Later in the day, she told me she was awake, but didn’t want to get out to assist because then she probably wouldn’t have gone back to bed.
He woke up for good at 6:30 am, and we had to leave by 1 pm for lunch. But he didn’t want to go as he was tired. On any other given day, I would’ve easily said OK, we won’t go, but since it was my parent’s anniversary, I wanted him to go. We, somehow, were able to get him dressed. He was a bit happier in the car, more happier at lunch, and even more happier when I took him for a walk to an ice cream store a few doors down. By the time we got home, he was tired, and he went to sleep at 5 pm. I fell asleep by 7 pm and Nina fell asleep by 8:15 pm. I purposely went to sleep early as I had to be prepared for whatever time he wakes up. Luckily, he slept through the night, as he eventually woke up for good at 6:15 am. That was a good and much needed sleep for him. I did hear him a few times throughout the night coughing, but he never woke up.
Oh, the food at the Mexican restaurant was ordinary. I scarfed down chips and queso, tortilla soup, cheese enchiladas, and rice. Normally, my parents will pay for meals, but since it was their anniversary, I wanted to grab the bill and I knew at that moment in time, my parent’s would get upset with me. After the waiter took my order, I told him to bring me the check. I am fortunate that my parents didn’t hear that. Unfortunately, I wasn’t at the table when the check came, as I was getting ice cream with Niko, but they were upset, and my brother told them to hush! My parents do a lot for us, and I was happy to treat them to lunch.
Oh, the ice cream place was called Chill-N, a liquid nitrogen ice cream shop. Yeah, a fancy name, but I didn’t get anything fancy about it. Niko got a cake batter ice cream with whipped cream and kit kats. It tasted like any normal type of ice cream. Niko really enjoyed it, as that was by far his favorite part of lunch. I told him, I am glad you liked it and I like spoiling you when aren’t feeling well. I also told him, no Mr. Softee ice cream truck tonight, and just as we were pulling in the garage, Mr. Softee was down the street.
For their 50th, my brother and I paid for lunch at Maggiano’s with several of their closest friends. Maggiano’s isn’t one of favorite Italian restaurants, but it does a hold a small place in my memories of life events. When Nina and I picked out an engagement ring from Jared, we took a short break from ring shopping and the restaurant that was next door to Jared, was Maggiano’s. After we finished eating, we went back to Jared, and she chose the ring she wanted.
If I had to choose an Italian place, it would probably be a small local restaurant called Little Italy. When I was younger, my family dined there a lot. They had a small semi -private room where our family of 10 would take ownership. One of the things I loved about Little Italy, is they would give you a small sample piece of cheese pizza! Little Italy was the restaurant where I took Nina to meet my parents for the first time. Even though I offered to pick her up, she wanted to drive herself in case she needed to escape quick! Well, she didn’t, but my dad kept calling her Cara as that was my brother’s girlfriend name.
It was a Chinese restaurant where I first met her mom and stepfather, and I passed the mother check! I didn’t meet her dad until after we were engaged, and again, I passed the father check.
It was at another Chinese restaurant, where I took Nina on a “first date.” To this day, she still reminds me that on that “first date”, I was happy and laughing and making really good small talk. I then proceeded to wipe my face with a napkin and a little bit of the napkin chose to hang out on my face. Nina wanted to reach across the table and help me.
If you ever visit my parents and look in the freezer, you will likely find several meals from Maggiano’s. How they get them, I don’t ask questions. I just politely decline when they offer them to me when I visit.
I know I am not the only person who raids their parent’s pantry, fridge, and freezer for food – even though I am an adult who knows how to get food, whether it be delivery, curbside, or going in an actual store, I am successful most of the time. One time, a few months ago when I was unemployed, I offered to go shopping for us. Nina gave me a list of stuff, and when I came home, I somehow only got half the items on the list, so she had to get the rest a few days later.
When my grandparents (my mom’s mom and dad) celebrated their 50th, we celebrated with food (of course) at a hotel with their closest friends. That hotel was within walking distance from where me, my brother, and parents lived. I remember when I was close to driving age, my dad would let me do some driving in the area near that hotel as nothing was around it, but a few paved streets. Now, it’s full of apartments, stores, office buildings, more hotels, and restaurants.
Nina and I will be married 13 years in October. I hope Niko will take care of us for our 50th anniversary and takes us someplace yummy.
That reminds me, that I have an idea for my 4th E-Book called, The Family Speaks, and I want to ask my parents and my brother some questions. Hopefully, this can kickstart my brain so I can jot down some questions for them.
