salmonberry jam & humble pie

This blog is written as a heart-felt thankyou to my beloved husband, who threw me a surprise belated birthday party this weekend.
I didn't turn 50 very gracefully. Getting older didn't bother me. But passing that milestone without fanfare really did. I'd wanted my 50th birthday to be a bit like Mr. Holland's Opus--an orchestrated acknowledgement of how my life has made a difference through the years.
But it didn't quite work out that way . . .
Never mind that my birthday fell on Father's Day this year and we happened to be in Homer, AK. Never mind that we'd just come from the village of Nulato, where the closest mall is hundreds of miles away. Oh, and did I mention Greg was preaching that day?
Greg did manage to snag me a jar of salmonberry jam at the airport in Fairbanks . . . and I've not stopped giving him grief about it since (sorry, dearie!)
When I innocently walked into a friend's back yard Saturday night, and heard "Surprise--Happy Birthday, Shawn!" (two months after the actual day), I found myself surrounded by a symphony of family and friends. My husband, children, and dozens of folks from Abundant life blessed me with kind words and then laid their hands on me and prayed.
I don't remember the last time I felt so loved!
So, thank you Greg for this very great blessing.
And the salmonberry jam was actually very good :)