He is working at the firehouse this cycle, which means he is on a 24-hour shift on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday.
He did not want a family and friend party. He asked for nothing special.
I don't think he is very happy about turning 50. The other day he went to Golden Corral while he was on duty and he received a senior citizen's discount. This disturbed him greatly. He even brought me home the receipt to show me!
And when he received his invitation to join AARP I thought I saw little flames come out of his ears.
I wanted to do something special for him, so I called the station one day and spoke to one of his firemen. I told him I wanted to bring a cake by, and he decided they would have a really nice dinner and I was invited.
Getting this set up took more effort than I would have imagined. At the end I wasn't even sure it would go off because my husband was assigned to work this shift as Acting Battalion Chief, which meant he would not even be at Fire Station #3!
However, as Acting Battalion Chief he could decide where he wanted to eat, and his crew told him to come and eat with them. Whew.
I arrived with the cake and ice cream before Acting Battalion Chief Firebaugh got there, so we hid the cake.
My husband told me he wasn't surprised and he knew that I had been cooking up something. Silly me to think I could pull something over on him.
Firemen eat very well when they want! We had grilled chicken breasts, kabobs and cooked pineapple. Yum!
He seemed to like the cake.
But then one of the firemen took a knife to it and cut the ladder off the top of it.
Apparently "real" fire engines don't have ladders on top of them, or something. There is a better picture of it at The Green House, which is the fire station's blog.
His men gave him a gift card to Lowe's, which was very nice of them.
My present for him has not yet arrived but I gave him a picture of it.
I am giving him a New Yorker style leather fire captain's helmet. These are handmade and can be used at work because they meet the right specifications.
All of my husband's gear is city-issued and I wanted him to have one of these. He has coveted one for many years but would not spend the $500 for it.
He seemed pleased.
Here are few pictures of them wrapping things up!
My husband started working with the fire department in February 1983. He is now one of the senior officers and is Captain of Fire House #3. I am very proud of him!
Happy Birthday, my love!
Happy Birthday to your husband! I'm like him, I dread the big 5-0 too, and I do not want any sort of party either. Luckily? I'll be spending that day at UVA hospital for my daughter's operation. Her being out of pain would be the best present ever. Sounds like you got him a really great gift.
ReplyDelete50 is coming up for me before long, too. Hasn't bothered me much...yet! Sounds like a wonderful group your husband works with and a great party!
ReplyDeleteI'm now far past 50...sigh. Wish hubby a happy birthday!
ReplyDeleteOh to be 50 again. Back when my knees did not hurt.
ReplyDeleteThe cake is sure purdy and whoever you got to make it did a nice job.
Happy B-Day to your Beloved.
Di
The Blue Ridge Gal
A perfect way to celebrate your husband's 50th! Best wishes to him. We get to define what 50 is all about. I throw the AARP literature in the trash for the time being. I'm not ready for it- so out with it!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Mr. Firebaugh!!!! You don't look a day older than
ReplyDelete35!
Happy Birthday to your husband! That was a really special cake. And, yeah, those AARP solicitations really bugged me, too. Especially since I started getting them three full years BEFORE I turned 50.
ReplyDelete50 beats being 49 and dead its an age not a mentality. I have yet to get a senior discount I am jealousd! happy Birthday James!
ReplyDeleteI know Joe would love if I came up with something this fun when he turns 50 (soon) but I'm so lame when it comes to stuff like this. I like to go to the party but not plan it. Everything looks great!
ReplyDeleteHappy 50th to your hubby! What a wonderful thing you did for him with the cake, the party and the hat.
ReplyDeleteAARP solicitations when I turned 50 bugged me. I never joined AARP. But what really angered me was when AARP transferred my mother's membership to my address after my mother died. It was like the dues they get from their "members" were more important the fact that a member had died. For them to "transfer" her membership to me was the ultimate insult.
ReplyDeleteI got so angry that I tracked down someone in AARP and told her to remove my name from every mailing list that AARP possessed. I do not receive AARP mail any longer. AARP is a huge racket.