Sunday Blog 187 – 1 June 2025
I turned 60 on Tuesday, and my birthday week culminated with a party that has been in the making for some years, in my head at least. Gatherings in my house are a somewhat vexed issue as darling husband prefers a quiet life while I’m an extrovert. Our house is small, my family and friends are numerous, so I’ve hankered for a gazebo, to manage the social overflow.
I wanted something with an apex roof. Darling husband wanted a pitched roof as it’s easier and cheaper to build. In an attempt to break this deadlock, once while he was away, I sought quotes for someone other than him to build it so I could achieve my vision. But Bunnings saved our marriage by offering a flat-pack gazebo that was exactly what I wanted. While still claiming the deadline of May would be difficult, darling husband had it up in no time. The gazebo in fact has been up since January and is now officially his idea.
And thus, I was able to hold my 60th at our house, under the gazebo. Why was that important to me? It’s the gathering of loved ones, the making of memories in our own home. The gesture of hospitality which is, well, generative. And despite all his hedging and stonewalling about the gazebo and the party, when it came down to it, darling husband delivered the speech of a lifetime that stole the show.
So the first gazebo party delivered it all. Family, friends old and new, colleagues. Delicious food, a fire and time to talk and even dance. And love, lots of love. In the quiet of the house the next day the walls still hummed with it.
Celebrate the milestones, I say.