Today is my birthday. My first birthday since his death. And I am so very glad not to be alone today. My brother is in town visiting. He’s giving me the best birthday present ever, not just by being here, but by helping me organize my house, especially the kitchen.
My house wasn’t a disaster zone or anything, but in the months since Ambrose’s passing I had allowed stuff to accumulate on the kitchen counters and kitchen table. And although I did remember cleaning the shelves when we first moved in, I discovered that there was a whole other layer of dirt that I hadn’t gotten to on the top of the shelves.
We’re getting rid of a lot of food that was expired, and we’ve got some food that I don’t think I’ll eat that I’ll donate to the local food pantry if they’ll take it. My shelves are a lot less full, but now I know everything that I have. I have a special shelf for things expiring soon that need to be eaten first.
We’ll probably get some more cleaning done today, but the big plan for my birthday is going to be a visit to the local hot springs this evening.
Tomorrow, we might drive out to McCall. That will depend on if the police station is open on the holiday or not. I still need to pick up my driver’s license from there, and I’d rather not do it alone. I wish I knew what happened to Ambrose’s wallet, but as time continues to pass, the likelihood is that it is gone forever. His license. My debit and credit cards. Some punch cards. Our REI membership cards. Nothing big. Just. Memories. And the wallet itself. I miss that wallet. I’d been talking about replacing it for years, but never got around to it.