Birthday present is full of treasures

I have the treasure chest almost full. It currently contains a plastic horse, a plastic cow that used to give “milk,” some fake pirate gold and a cluster of cheap necklaces. There are also some keys and other trinkets in the bottom of the chest.
The treasure chest and a bunch of old toy cars are headed to Texas early next month for grandson Nicholas’ birthday. The chest itself is a decorative wooden box that my brother had given our mom one Christmas. The treasures are a mixture of salvaged toys from our childhood and cheap plastic from a craft store. The cars are mostly from when my brothers were little and bear no resemblance to anything on the road today. I don’t expect them to last so long in their new home.
The birthday boy’s mother said he likes treasure chests. He had already taken a small one home when they were here for Mom’s funeral. She also told me he likes necklaces. Everybody knows that treasure chests contain jewelry so this was a good thing. I bet this is the first one to have a horse and cow inside.
This is the first time I have ever completed shopping for anyone’s birthday so early. My presents are famous for arriving a week after the special day. I haven’t bought a birthday card yet, nor is everything packaged up, so the gifts might still be late.
Finding “pirate gold” to add to the treasure chest was only one of the good things that happened this week. The week began with a visit to the radiation doctor who said everything looked good and I didn’t have to go back for six months. We celebrated by eating lunch at a great sub shop.
Later that day I was kidnapped by a friend. I joined two other victims in her car. She took us to a church in the middle of nowhere. A perky drill instructor made us exercise until we were about to drop with laughter and exhaustion. Then we were herded into the kitchen for some health food.
I discovered that I was in no danger of being healthy. Even the offerings that tasted good at first, required an effort to swallow. Either the flavor was unpleasant, or the texture was repulsive. The term, “not my cup of tea,” came to mind. After our captor returned us to our loved ones, I downed some milk and cookies to get the taste out of my mouth.
Two days later we celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary, or as I told my husband, it was 13 years before our 50th anniversary. We reflected on the past three decades and more. We seem to get more comfortable with each other as the years go by.
It’s like the saying goes, “two become one.” We do seem to be morphing into each other as I can no longer tell where one begins and the other leaves off. Too bad I am not gaining any of his height. I guess I can’t have everything.
I finished up the week by finally cleaning out the drain in the bathroom sink. It’s such a simple thing to do but for some reason it makes me feel like Super Woman. No, not Wonder Woman or Superman, but Super Woman.
It is one of those things that my mom would never do. For some reason, both she and I think of taking things apart as man’s work. Sexist? Probably. But that is how I was raised. So when I can make short work of what I consider to be a man’s job, it gives me a rush of pride.
It was a good week. A lot got accomplished and things are looking up. Besides, how many people can say they have a treasure chest on their dining room table?