Happy Birthday to Me! -posted by Rod

As many of you may know, my birthday is swiftly approaching. This year I decided that the thing I wanted to most for my b-day was not the latest cellphone, blu-ray dvd player, car stereo equipment, Dave Matthews Band cd, 52" plasma tv, xbox or wii game, zune accesory, etc. etc. What I wanted most this year was a little one-on-one time with my beautiful wife. You see, ever since Caily came into our lives about 4 months ago the only time we have had to spend together without a munchkin attached to my Clarissa was about an hour shortly after Christmas when my Mom watched Caily for about an hour while Clarissa and I hurried to the closest Cold Stone Creamery and back. That didn't count as a date because we never sat down.

So I informed Clarissa about a month ago that a date was the only thing I wanted for my birthday and refused to tell her anything else I wanted, though I did drop hints just in case she couldn't bear to leave Caily yet. Clarissa was not having it. All month she hinted and straight out said there is no way she could leave her mini-companion for a night, all the while planning for a big night out. Now Clarissa has a tendency to give away surprises, last year she talked so much about how sad she was that she couldn't get me a Zune for my birthday that I knew she had gotten me one, but this year she had the perfect balance of believable denial and letting the issue go. In other words, when our friends came over to hang out last night and Clarissa walked out dressed and ready to go on a date she caught me totally off guard. Thanks to the Benacs for watching Caily.

The date was exactly what I wanted, mainly because it was alone time with Clarissa. We started out by going to a Brazilian restaurant in the U district. Neither of use had ever had Brazilian before so this was a little adventurous for us, but the food was fantastic! We started the night with the Casquinhe de Siri served with a hot sauce with just enough flavor and almost too hot, almost. Clarissa had prawns simmered in coconut milk, lime juice, vegetables, and palm oil. Clarissa, who is not a fan of onions, said even the onions tasted fantastic in that sauce. I had the Feijoda with black beans, ham hock (whatever that is) sausage, and beef. Another great dish. As we were finishing up dinner a guitarist came in and started strumming the guitar and singing in Portuguese. For desert we shared a wonderful carmel flan and the staff sang me happy birthday in Portuguese. I would definitely go back there and recommend it to others.

After dinner Clarissa took me to a park that we were supposed to walk around and explore, but the very cold rain made that seem like a less-than-fun idea. So we moved onto the next event. As we were walking towards the building where Clarissa had planned the next event I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of older people headed in the same direction. So Clarissa spilled and told me that we were going to a dance at an old folks home to benefit Alzheimer's research, and we would be dancing with old people all night. Those of you that know Clarissa know that if I planned something like that for her she would absolutely love it, so I started to get a little worried. Clarissa went into so much detail about the dance that she almost had me convinced. It turned out though that we were going to a production of The Fantasticks. A little musical coming-of-age/love story. It was well done, and funny, and the best part is I could put my arm around Clarissa and not worry about having to run out if Caily started crying.

We had a great time, and it was the perfect birthday present. It did, however, tear Clarissa's heart in two to have to leave her little girl for so long, but after some initial tears she managed to enjoy the night as well. After it ended she forbade me from ever making such a birthday wish again. Thankfully, I don't think I will ever have to.

Thanks Clarissa. Happy Birthday to me!