J-Dawg turns 23!

Well, I have a confession... J-Dawg is younger than me. Thank goodness for his maturity level though, because he seems much older than he actually he is. I turned 23 in September of 2010 and he turned 23 in July of 2011 (you do the math). The poor thing severely dreaded his b-day coming up and was not looking forward to aging. But I give him props for being where he is at his age- manager of the mechanical and farming portion of the dairy, owns his truck, lives in a very nice home, is situated, and knows what he wants out of life. Now, how many 23-year-old men can say the same? 

I was invited out his way for the weekend to celebrate his birthday with his family and friends. I had been racking my mind for weeks of what to buy for him, and finally came up with some fun yet pragmatic ideas. His birthday was on Sunday, and I arrived on Saturday. His gift bags full of surprises and tissue paper sat in the back of my car, driving me crazy. But at midnight, I woke him up and handed him his gifts (I know, not nice). 

He got a new diddy bag (toiletry bag) stocked full of schtuff, plaid shorts (that I knew he'd never buy himself, but they were super cute), Silly Putty (perfect for he who must be playing with something at all times) and some brain teasers that I discovered he loves. He was grateful for his gifts and took right to the brain teasers. Sad part was, he's too stinkin' smart and figured them out in minutes, even though they were rated "difficult". Afterward that morning, we headed to his parents for the ritual Sunday morning brunch. 

Let me explain something to you... the Dutch love sandwiches! While I was taking my Dutch courses, I learned a new word: uitsmijter. Directly translated, it means "bouncer". Confused as to why the lady in my textbook was eating a bouncer, I called in reinforcements for my poor translating abilities. "No silly, uitsmijter is a breakfast sandwich," J-Dawg told me. Ooohhhh... that makes more sense. In fact, according to ask.com, the story goes that "this dish used to be served to cafe patrons late at night just before they were kicked out at closing time. It is still a popular breakfast- and lunch dish in the Netherlands."

Sunday morning brunches with J-Dawg's family consist of uitsmijters ham en kaas-  toast, mustard, ham and other sandwich meats, eggs (sunny side up) and varieties of Dutch cheese (Edam or Gouda). The first time I made J-Dawg breakfast (French toast, sausage and eggs), I watched as he piled it into one big sandwich. This would be the first of many occurrences. Then after about three Sunday brunches with his folks, I discovered the connection between the Dutch and sandwiches-- and it is a strong one! 

I began to love sandwiches, and now find myself making uitsmijters with or without J-Dawg. Also at Sunday morning brunches, coffee accompanies the sandwiches. And oh what a delicious combo. I love coffee to begin with, so anytime someone says "coffee break!", I'm in. While in Europe, I discovered that the Dutch and Belgians love to have coffee breaks around 9 or 10 am. This allows you to pull away from your work for about 15 minutes, and enjoy a cup of coffee and snack with co-workers or family. Now that I am savvy in world-travel (haha, not so much), I believe the US should instate this custom also. Would anyone like to second the motion? 

While enjoying our sandwiches and coffee, J-Dawg's family began to hand him his gifts. To explain what fun people his folks are, they told him he must FIND his gift from them. It was somewhere in the closed-off pool area where Sunday brunches occur. He looked everywhere possible and then eyed an air compressor box that looked out of place. Once he lifted it, he found a beautiful wooden carved eagle that stood about three feet tall. J-Dawg loves eagles, and was thoroughly impressed with his mom's purchase. He has the perfect place for it, but this will be mentioned in a blog to come later. : ) 

Prior to J-Dawg's birthday, his younger brother and I discussed what to get him. As I've mentioned before, J-Dawg is so incredibly pragmatic that whatever anyone purchased him, it would have to have a very good use. When his brother asked what I thought would be a good gift, socks immediately came to mind. What's more practical than socks? J-Dawg opened his gift to find thick, white, Hanes socks. For the boy who's always griping about having ones with holes, he got six brand new pairs. Everyone laughed, and he looked at me with a grim smile, knowing darn well it was my idea. He also received also received a pair of fluffy, soft, baby blue socks, from his sister along with a gift certificate to travel to Fredericksburg, TX for a weekend of wine tasting.

Birthday boy with his cake and fluffy socks

His mom then brought out his cake, and it looked delicious. We all enjoyed one an others company, slices of cake and coffee. It was then time for a dip in the family pool where pool badminton would take place. Do you have any idea how far birdies fly? Maybe that's why they're called birdies... J-Dawg, his sister, two brothers and I spent most of the time hopping in and out of the pool to get them, but we still had a blast! 


After his birthday party and hours of swimming, it was time for dinner. Afterward, clouds began rolling in. J-Dawg's dad talked about the chance of rain. If you've ever heard about farmers discussing rain, and think its cliche, you may be right. But owning a farm in eastern New Mexico and west Texas is probably on the Top 10 list of difficult jobs. These individuals go through months of drought and are still expected to produce not one, but numerous crops. So when rain finally hits, its a big deal!

They spoke in Frisian how they hadn't seen a good rain since October of 2010, bear in mind this was July of 2011. Just then, thunder began grumbling all around us and lightning flashes lit up the whole farm. The excitement could be seen in everyone's eyes as it began to pour. Being a desert rat, I ran out from under the garage and spun in circles in the torrential downpour. J-Dawg smiled warmly at me and joined. Just then the lightning hit very close to where we were standing, so we decided we could see the rain just fine from the garage. J-Dawg hugged me tightly and said it was the best birthday he had ever had.