13 August 2008

Happy Barfday to Me!



Yesterday was Happy 38th to me. The 30s are waning, folks. And fast.

My brother gave me a special Bible verse "...now that (I'm) nearing 40."

'O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wonderous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.' Ps. 71:17-18

Har har.

The day started out so nicely. Michael turned off my alarm so I slept in, waking a little later to my family singing me the HB song and bringing me coffee in bed. Family devotionals. Croissants from my favorite bakery. Nice. We headed to the marina with our swimsuits and sunscreen, and then up the coast stopping every now and then to take a dip in the water. We ended up off of beautiful Malibu.

What a perfect, gorgeous day! Swimming in the ocean. Jumping off the bow. Listening to great music. Yummy lunch. Back in the water. What more could I ask? It was little choppy, but otherwise a completely lovely day out on the ocean.

After a few hours we decided to move up the coast a little more so Michael turned the key and it sounded like the noise when you get a fork stuck in the garbage disposal. Not good. The starter had died.

We got stranded! The older kids thought this was very funny and sang the "Gilligan's Island" theme over and over. Not super hysterical in my opinion at that very minute.

That's when we had to call SeaTow to tug us into port.

That's when the waves really started to rock and roll.

That's when our rescue took an hour to arrive.

And that's when the babies started wailing and screaming.

I'm going to digress here and say that you just never know when The Best Day Ever is going to hit. A couple of months ago the two of us were in San Francisco for just 24 hours. But what a DAY! We flew in, checked in to our hotel, ate lunch, lounged in the sun, strolled down to Pier 39, and enjoyed a relaxing, foggy harbor cruise. We walked hand-in-hand through town, napped, went out to a nice dinner, caught a late movie, and indulged in midnight dessert at Mel's Diner. We woke up early, had coffee and rolls in a great bakery, checked out, and cruised around the city before picking up the older kids in Sacramento. Talk about The Best Day Ever! It was idyllic!

This was not that day.

The waves were getting big. I'm talking big. Lose your footing and hit your head waves. There were seven of us stuck on a stranded boat. Crying babies. Our anchor dragging. Getting closer to shore. Wondering where on earth SeaTow could be. Did I mention the crying babies? Bigger waves. More waiting.

Let's just say it went downhill from there. SeaTow finally arrived, hooked us up and started to tow us in. Very, very slowly because of the whitecaps.



And, THAT, my friends, is when the barfing started.

Lots of barfing.

Contagious barfing.

Barfing off the stern. Barfing off the splash deck. Barfing IN the cabin.

Michael, who can handle almost anything but vomit, bolted for the bow to get fresh air so he didn't lose his cookies, too.

I tried to keep the babies out of the mess... Don't ask. It was gross.

Isn't it amazing how FAST things can go badly? One minute we're enjoying a birthday out on the water, the next it's Barf-o-rama! Once we finally got everything cleaned up and hosed down we then realized that SeaTow had put a nice hole in the hull. FUN!

Now that all the little tummies were empty, everyone was starving. After feeding the kids and putting them to bed, we shared a glass of wine, joked about basking in the glow of an idyllic day, and laughed until we cried.

Happy 38th barfday to me!

19 comments:

The Redman's said...

I guess it was just the beginning when you told me you had barfing... and had to hang up!!! What an adventure you had. Though, all in all, it sounded like a wonderful birthday (minus the waves and barfing!!)

Happy Birthday to you!!

xoxo

Stacie said...

Oh my! It's good to know that you were able to laugh about it later - I didn't think it could get worse until the barfing started!! Glad you were rescued! Happy Birthday! :)

Elizabeth Lyons said...

Laurie -

Oh NO! Well, I suppose all's well that ends well??? Dear - honestly, I can't handle barfing either. I'm with Michael! Glad you got in safely, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Betty said...

I suppose if one had to chose between idyllic birthdays and idyllic "unbirthdays", it's better to go with the idyllic "unbirthdays"-- you can have more of those in a year! Happy Birthday! and may you have an idyllic year filled with laughter over all those less than idyllic days!
-Betty

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness! I wish I hadn't been eating when I read this post. :) What a birthday indeed! Glad it was better once the kids were in bed.

Your SF day sounded amazing! Hubby and I did that same thing for our 2nd anniversary (years ago).

Happy belated birthday!

Julie said...

Oh No! Well at least it is a birthday that you'll never forget! Happy Belated Birthday!

Jesi and Joe said...

WHOA! What an adventure! I didn't know you guys had a boat! Gee, I would've been hitting you up for a ride on the ocean long ago, had I known! ;-) But now... sounds like your boat may, uh, have a little bit of an ODOR to it?! ;-) That's got to be just about the funniest. story. ever. Seriously. Joe and I are sitting here laughing our heads off. That is such a bummer things turned and went so wrong. A TOTAL bummer! But, thanks for sharing!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Unknown said...

Oh dear! What a day you had. Happy Birthday anyway :)

Rebecca Lily said...

Oh LAURIE!! Oh my... I am sorry that I laughed through half of this. I am just glad you have a sense of humor in it all. I can SO relate to the feeling of "the perfect day going wrong"... the best way I know how to deal with that is just to laugh!! And then post it on my blog. :) Girl, happy birthday... at least it started out nice. :) Croissants & coffee in bed... just carry those thoughts with you. :)

Love ya!

Rebecca

Amy said...

What a day! Great re telling of the events... Sorry everyone barfed, but what a great memory for your 38th birthday! :)

Happy Birthday!

Brad and Christy Sherrell said...

Laurie, I think you and I must share a birthday but it sounds like I didn't have as much fun as you. There were no abnormal bodily functions going on in our house...thankfully!

emily said...

Oh no!!! I forgot your birthday and you were barfing all over the place. So, so sorry, for both. :)

Love you and am super thankful that you were born!

Gretchen said...

What a day you had! Yikes! I'm impressed you were able to laugh about it and am THRILLED you were able to have a glass of wine during the aftermath. Cheers to your birthday, new friend!

Tish said...

is it wrong for me to still be laughing? what a story! happy birthday to you!!! i just turned 38, too...yech, that 40 just keeps creepin' closer!

DrewCareyShow said...

You write some funny entries, lady. Happy belated barfday!

FHL said...

Oh my! Well the good part, you'll NEVER forget this celebration and will likely laugh about it for years to come. But, ugh, that had to be a disconcerting afternoon! Glad you at least had a great first half & the photo's above are very fun!

Happy Belated Birthday!

Liesl said...

Oh dear! What an "eventful" day. I am so glad you were able laugh about it...life is nothing without a good sense of humor, huh?

Happy Birthday to you!! My mom's b-day is also that day...what a great day!

Here's to another SF-like trip for you (hopefully soon)!

Rants & Raves in Seattle said...

Oh my Goodness!! Well this is one birthday you will NEVER forget!

Kristi J said...

That is one of the best stories I've heard in a long time..Glad you all made it out safely...yuck!!Kristi
ps..happy late b-day