I hope that everyone had a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving.
This year was especially poignant and memorable because I have sooooo very much to be thankful for!
Last Thanksgiving, I was electric scootering my way around Disney World in an effort to be extra cautious and careful about protecting my then 9 week old fetus.
Fast forward one year later and that precious life I was carrying around and protecting in Disney World is now here with us in person to love and adore.
Together, with his older brother, they are both filling our lives with more joy and happiness than I could ever describe.
My family is finally complete and for that I am truly and humbly thankful.
This year, we decided to head to my mother-in-law’s house for the Thanksgiving holiday.
She lives in Tennessee and it is about a 5 ½ hour trip from our house to hers.
Unfortunately, we don’t get up there as much as we should/would like to, so we were all looking forward to the visit.
We headed out at about 8:30 p.m. last Tuesday night and drove straight through.
We were a little leery about being on the road late into the night, but when we weighed that versus trying to entertain an almost 6-month old who had to be restrained in a car seat the entire time...sharing the highway with 18-wheelers in the dark of night actually seemed like the better thing to do.
Guess what?
Our gamble paid off!
MILESTONE #1 – The drive went off without a hitch! Colton slept the entire way there and even R.J. dozed off half-way through the trip, which was very upsetting to him because as he said, “He only got to watch 1 DVD before he fell asleep!” LOL!
Let me back track just a bit...
For about a week prior to our trip, Colton developed a really stuffy and congested nose and even ran a bit of a fever for a day or two.
Combine that with the fact that he was just a wee bit irritable at times and this second time around mommy should have known that something was up.
Know what?
It was!
MILESTONE #2 – Colton cut his FIRST tooth at Grandma Ruth’s!
Okay, now let me share some history about our first-born son...
In 2002, R.J. was born via emergency c-section on November 26th the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I vividly remember Michael and I sitting in the hospital room eating turkey and dressing brought to us from home…not exactly how we thought we were going to be spending the Thanksgiving holiday that year (R.J. was actually due Dec. 15th), but it was a memorable one nonetheless.
In fact, my mom saved the wishbone from the turkey, tied a blue ribbon around it and marked it with R.J.’s date and time of birth…we still have it and every year since then it hangs on R.J.’s Christmas tree as a very special “ornament”.
This year...
R.J.’s birthday fell on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Even though we celebrated it with a big party the weekend prior with his classmates and friends, I didn’t want the actual day to go by without doing a little something special for him at Grandma Ruth’s house.
I wanted to officially celebrate him turning 8 years old, so I decided to have his very own birthday cake prepared in Tennessee rather than traveling all those miles with a cake from home.
Bad idea.
Some background info...
For those of you who don’t know anything about living in the south…it’s all about college football.
Being that we live in Alabama, it’s all about the SEC (South Eastern Conference).
Well really, it's more about the University of Alabama and Auburn University football teams.
It’s a really BIG rivalry…you are either for one or the other.
You show your school/football spirit by wearing either crimson and white or orange and blue.
In fact, these two schools have such influence over the way of life here that at birth you have to declare what football team your baby is going to be pulling for…LOL!
Long story short…we are HUGE Auburn football fans, and YES, we brainwashed our oldest son very early on.
During the Fall, most every home game Saturday, you can find R.J. and Michael in Auburn, AL at Jordan Hare football stadium routing on the Tigers.
I’d be there too, but (A) I am the Mom, and (B) we have a newborn, and (C) if I’m going to buy season tickets for a family of four, then by golly all four of us are going to be of the age where we can sit through an entire football game.
Back to this Thanksgiving...
Okay, so I decided that when we got to Tennessee, I would sneak out to the grocery store and have a small birthday cake decorated with my son’s favorite football team's logo on it.
It's the same logo that here in Alabama adorns EVERYTHING from food to clothing to cars, etc.
Well, I quickly found out that my brilliant idea was about to be deflated.
On Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we all ventured out to the GIGANTIC store conglomerate that begins with a WAL and ends with a MART.
I instructed Michael and Grandma Ruth to take R.J. and the baby to another part of the store to divert R.J. away from the bakery department.
With a big smile on my face and birthday cake decoration sheet in hand, I walked up to the counter and in a very chipper voice told the girl that I was interested in getting a birthday cake done for my son that we would pick up on Friday.
I then handed her the sheet of paper with the Auburn logo on it and the wording I wanted the cake to say...
After I handed the paper across the counter, a ditsy hair-netted girl (with a not so chipper voice)says to me, “We can’t do that, it’s against state law.”
Excuse me???
Against state law???
WHAT???
Ditsy hair-netted girl: “Yes, M’am it’s a logo and it’s trademarked and we cannot put anything with a trademark on a cake, it’s state law.”
She says this to me as I am standing there looking at the dozens of Disney-charactered, Dora the Explorer, Shrek, Batman, Spiderman and Superman logo, etc. adorned cakes and treats (which I may add are equally “trademarked” I'm sure).
Me: “You’ve got to be kidding me. All I want is an orange and blue letter “A” and a letter “U” on a birthday cake for an 8 year old that is going to be eaten privately in a home.”
Ditsy hair-netted girl: “It doesn't matter.”
insert [okay, I graduated from law school...there is a thing called trademark infringement, but...]
Me: “This is crazy! It's not like we are trying to mass market Auburn birthday cakes for sale on the street corner in Tennessee.”
Ditsy hair-netted girl: “I’m sorry M’am, I can’t do it. I could go to jail if I did.” (she says this to me as she proceeds to disappear into the baking room off to the side of the counter, which I was thinking she did in an effort to run for cover because she probably figured out that I was ready to pummel a few hundred of the mini [WAL-MART is famous for] cupcakes at her!!!)
After this alien exchange of words, I walk stomp on over to my husband, mother-in-law and my two sons absolutely fuming (seriously, I think that actual smoke and flames were shooting off my head), because (A) ditsy hair-netted girl's response is RIDICULOUS, (B) I am a Type A personality and when I set my mind on certain things going a certain way, I get all thrown off course if my plans get foiled, and (C) my birthday cake request does not violate state law...do you hear me ditsy hair-netted girl?!!!! It's my son's 8th birthday and all I want is two freakin' letters from the alphabet on a cake for goodness sake!
Needless to say, in my frustration and without thinking I blurt out what all has just happened at the bakery counter (in front of R.J.) - - great Tracey, you just killed your own surprise for your son.
UGH!
Michael who is now equally perturbed with what just transpired (and who I might add is an attorney licensed in four states…including Tennessee) decides he is going to head over to the bakery counter and give this request a whirl.
As my mother-in-law, myself and the two boys stand back in another section of the store, we can look over toward the bakery counter and see a heated discussion taking place between my husband, the ditsy hair-netted girl, and a man who we later found out was the bakery’s assistant manager.
Michael to ditsy hair-netted girl: “Please cite me what state law this birthday cake request violates.”
Ditsy hair-netted girl: “Tennessee state law.”
insert [DUH!!!!]
Michael: “So you are telling me that you can't put these letters on a cake because it violates some state law? There is absolutely no Tennessee law this request violates. I want to speak to a manager.”
Ditsy hair-netted girl: “The phone in the bakery is not working right now so I can’t call him.”
Michael: “Where can I find him?” (coincidentally, the bakery manager happens to walk up as Michael is asking that question)
Bakery Manager: “Is there a problem, sir?”
Michael: (explaining the situation to him) asks again, “What state law does our birthday cake request violate?”
Bakery Manager: “Well, it’s not actually a state law, it’s WAL-MART policy. We don’t reproduce anything that is trademarked.” (he says while standing in front of the same dozens of Disney-charactered, Dora the Explorer, Shrek, Batman, Spiderman and Superman logo, etc. adorned cakes and treats)
Michael: “So you are telling me that the WAL-MART stores in Alabama are violating company store policy when they put an Auburn University “A” and a “U” or a University of Alabama “A” on a cake or some other treat?”
Bakery Manager: “Yes, sir.” (as he too starts to walk slither away probably also looking for cover because after all Michael is a tall guy, who can throw and the produce section - with some heavy looking fruit - is just within arm's reach of him)
After we witness the exchange between Michael, ditsy hair-netted girl and the manager, an equally as frustrated and fuming Michael approaches us.
As he comes closer, my mother-in-law says, “Why don’t we try Kroger’s?”
God love her! [ it's a southern expression ;0) ]
Did Kroger’s make the cake?
MILESTONE #3 – YES!! They did.
One other thing...
I forgot to mention that November 26, 2010 - R.J.’s 8th birthday - (but you know that by now don't you?) also happened to be the day of the Iron Bowl which is the annual season-ending football game considered to be one of the best and most hard-fought rivalries in all of sports between the University of Alabama and Auburn University.
The winner of the Iron Bowl gets bragging rights until the following year’s game.
Who won?
MILESTONE #4 – AUBURN!!
In the biggest comeback win in the school’s history!
The WINNING Touchdown!
AUBURN 28 ~ ALABAMA 27
And, what did R.J. have to say about it all?
MILESTONE #5 – “Auburn winning the Iron Bowl on my 8th birthday is the best present I ever got!”
And, my sweet child…you and your little brother are the best presents I ever got!
