As I've mentioned, my brother's name is Justin. Growing up, people always called him Jason, and I never understood how these two name's could be so easily confused. Now, after marrying a Jason I am offering humble apologies in my mind to all those I judged so rashly. :) I too am now guilty, which can create some wonderfully awkward moments at times! Regardless, last night my two "J's" had much in common. They both made my birthday far better than I had expected it to be!
You see, we have a tradition in my family, and that is to spread our birthday celebrations out as long as humanly possible! This year, Jason and I began at Christmas, when my folks bought us a fabulous camera, which would be spread out as ALL our gifts for the following year. Then in February, we ordered me the Power 90 workout videos, which was technically my gift from Jason. Then, we visited Missouri at the beginning of this month and Jason's folks treated me to a wonderful dinner at Mythos, and bought me a kickin' new belly-button ring! All that said, by my birthday, there really weren't many gifts left to receive!
The week before my birthday Jason did surprise me by saving up scrap metal and cashing it in to buy some massage oil... that was a super-bonus-points to husband surprise for sure!! So when I came home from work yesterday, I knew I would be getting a massage, but I wasn't expecting anything else. Jason had texted me during the day and asked me to come home as quickly as possible. I assumed it was because he was tired and didn't want to back out on the massage, but still wanted to get to bed early. I understood that, since after all, Tuesday is a pretty awkward day to have a birthday... especially when I don't get home till 8pm and he leaves for work at 5:30am!
All that to say, when I got home, there was quite a bit more waiting for me than I had expected! I opened the door to see my handsome, red-headed man dressed in his Sunday best with the table set for a wonderfully romantic dinner! Star-gazer lillies in a vase enveloped by a large teddy bear took center-stage beside the glowing candles that illuminated the beautiful and tasty gourmet meal he had prepared. Peaceful music of ocean waves breaking on the seashore prepared me for my candle lit and aromatic massage later in the evening.
Dinner was Beef Braciole with basil, red pepper and provolone cheese, topped with a marinara sauce, Sauteed New Potatoes sliced with Italian herbs and garlic, and a Crab Apple stuffed with garlic, basil and tomato feta cheese. YUM!!!
Before we left the dinner table, Jason brought me a gift that had come in the mail from my brother. I opened it to find a book I had given Justin for Christmas several years ago called, "Between Me and You, Brother: A few questions I've been meaning to ask." J had filled out every page and sent it back as my gift. And what an amazing gift! Jason and I sat down and read every page! I was a puddle of tears before we were done, and was filled with gratitude for these two incredible men in my life!
I guess Jason and Justin have more in common than I thought! And I had a FABULOUS birthday!
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