Today he is 27 years old. It has been a very calm, uneventful day and this has me feeling somewhat sad although Rico says it's no big deal. If things were different - if we had some extra money and a lot of friends in this city - I would have liked to organize a surpise party for him just like he did for my birthday back in October. Alas, the budget is tight and we recently moved to Maputo and are still somewhat isolated here. I suppose we celebrated Rico's birthday in the best way possible given our situation...
This morning I made us a special breakfast: 2 cups of coffee each and a ham and cheese omelette. Not that the meal was particularly fancy, our breakfasts usually don't go beyond a carton of yogurt or a bowl of All-Bran. After breakfast, I gave Rico my present. In the world of presents, it's not the most exciting but I do hope it will have a lasting impact.
My birthday present to Rico was a 3-month membership to the nicest gym in Maputo. I also got one for myself, with the idea that Rico's 27th birthday will mark the start of a new phase of healthy living, plenty of exercise, and fresh and nutritious food. It's a change we both agree is important, but we needed a bit of a push to actually get to the gym and committ to a healthier lifestyle. I hope that Rico's birthday will serve as a landmark that we can look back on one year later and realize that we've managed to implement the changes we wanted.
I hope that the gym membership will be looked upon as a present that expressed my concern with our well-being, my desire to grow old together with Rico and have as few health problems as possible. I fear, however, that the present may be interpreted in a different light. A friend back in Chimoio called to wish Rico happy birthday and when he found out that I'd given him a gym membership, this friend asked to speak to me on the phone and said, "Man, Ali, that's like a husband giving his wife an oven for her birthday - the one who benefits isn't the person having the birthday!" Will it be possible to actually convince people that this present isn't so I can have a boyfriend that is ripped and has a rock hard six-pack??
Anyhow, we went to the gym today and it wasn't so bad. The treadmills face a big picture window on the 14th floor of a building that has a killer view of the Indian Ocean, and the gym is actually really nice. After an hour of cardio and weights, though, it was time for a little celebration. We walked to an ice cream parlor and had a pitcher of fresh juice and a waffle with honey, whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!
After our treat, we came back home and watched "Y tu mamá también" on DVD on my laptop. The plan now is that I will make a big stack of tortillas from scratch and we will have a taco dinner. Nothing extravagant, just some good old New Mexican food to celebrate the beginning of one more year...
(I'm secretly making Rico a lovely birthday card...the only problem is that for the card to be a surprise I have to make it during a time when Rico and I are not together, something that doesn't happen all too often. So I will wait until a day when he has a meeting and I am at home alone for a couple of hours, then I will bust out the art supplies and make a beautiful card. Unfortunately, I didn't get any time alone this week and therefore the card will not be delivered on his birthday, but I suppose it's the thought that counts, right?)
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