Birthdays – they’re not unusual- everyone has one every year. They happen whether you want it or not and I think it’s better to have one than not. But today, we celebrate the milestone of 50 of them for the husband person Geoffrey.
Thank you to the XS family who joined us on Saturday night to celebrate.
So, Geoffrey has turned 50. Yep, 50. OMG, FIFTY!! Thank you, I’m holding up okay. I appreciate your concern and If you wish to buy me a Mojito or two, or fifty…seeing as though that is todays magic number - to help me drown my sorrows, I won’t stop you. I woke up today, looked at the man next to me, thought “Holy Crap, I’m married to a 50-year-old” and then immediately blurted it out on Facebook. What can I say? The sharing was therapeutic. He might be the one who’s turned 50 but I’m the one having the mid-life crisis. Why am I having a mid-life crisis? BECAUSE I’M MARRIED TO A 50-YEAR-OLD. Even scarier is the fact I am not that far behind.
50 birthdays – that’s a whole lot of cake and a whole lot of memories - 50 years of being a son to Neil and Naomi, 50 years of being a brother to Ian, Lindsey and Wendy, and 50 years of being a nephew to Heather. The rest of us haven’t been that lucky yet but the reason you are reading this is because one way or another you have moulded him into the person he is today.
Geoffrey has been in my life for 27 of his 50 years. 27 years of some of the most awesome moments of life. Raising 2 amazing children who have recently added 2 nearly as awesome sons to the clan, a few houses and a home or 2, a few motorcycles and associated adventures but most importantly 27 years of building memories with each other and with all of you. Because of his love of things with wheels we have probably actually only spent 3 of these together – he has spent more time on the road with the Michaels in his life than the Michelle’s.
Some of these 27 years have been somewhat more challenging than others but we have grown and moved forward together. He says it how it is, and always brings me back to earth when I am having a meltdown – sometimes with a thud but always with the best intentions. He is flexible, understanding and supportive in so many ways. There is nothing he won’t do. Apart from go fishing, swimming, snorkelling, karaoke, dancing, watch football ,skydiving, eating avocado or mayonnaise.
He is my rock, he has been there when I need him and always supportive of my whims especially when it comes to being an unpaid staff member for the many jobs I have had over the years. I’m sure the red cross crew will remember me frequently saying – I think we need pigeon holes, we need to spend three weekends in a row putting together desks and partitions, I need a frame, I need to tow a stupid flipping caravan - the husband person can do that and he always does.
He has this amazing ability to zone everything out and concentrate, to the point of deafness, when working in the shed or watching TV. BUT if I mention anything XS related, he suddenly sits bolt upright and swivels his head a full 360 like the kid in Exorcist – amazing. I am under no illusion that I haven’t made it yet as the love of his life – but I am kind of happy that at least I am second to something with 2 wheels and not 2 legs.
You know what, you are so lucky to be married to a younger model, because when we get to your 60th I will be able to remember all the birthdays you have forgotten.
From the dumb truck driver who knows nothing but can lift heavy things, to the self -trained mechanic who will spend 4 hrs making a tool for a 5-minute job. He is the father who loved teaching us how to change tires and reverse into tight spots because you need to be able to get out of wherever you got into and reverse in a straight line, Geoffrey has always been the pillar standing by to support and encourage us.
I love the fact that even though the girls are now adults, you still ask if they need anything whenever they see you. I love the fact that your taste in clothes has never altered – checked shirts have withstood all fashion trends. I love the fact that you continue to challenge yourself, proving you can teach an old dog new tricks. All on his own, well maybe with a little bit of help, he created steptoexs1100 on you tube and many videos have been uploaded to help the average home DIYer fix bikes, bits and pieces. The channel now has more followers than videos, 48 vs 108 - not as many twitter followers as D has but he is working on it.
He has developed a knack for roping in the family and more recently Errol, to film his latest epiphany to share with the world, usually in a minimum of 645 takes, and 9 or 10 editing events some are an academy award in the making.
Many family memories have been shared on and around the bikes and I have no doubt he will be buried with one or maybe three in another 50 years or so, as long as mum outlives him. His infatuation with the xs1100 has brought many new friends to our life and into our family and for this we are all grateful – you got him out of our hair!
Within the warm chaos of McPhee ¬family life, we have learned the values of caring for others and the importance of being able to express our views and feelings openly, so Happy Birthday father person – we love you.
Thank you for everything you have done for us over the past 22 years – even if you still get our names mixed up after 18years, I guess that’s the forgetter er getting better and the rememberer fading.
From watching us play netball every Saturday and following us around the beach at nippers despite the fact you hate sand and land walking sharks. For attempting to wash and do my hair when I broke my arm for the fourth of fifth time and that time Brilee and I got chicken pox and you were home with a broken leg so we all made a model boat and making our Friday night dinners memorable with good ole spam tomato, cheese, toasties. The times we’ve spent together are truly treasured and have shaped us into the ladies we are today despite the ongoing abuse of very very bad dad jokes that you use and are now teaching to Michael and Jye. If any of you have spent enough time with dad you would know what I mean when I say dad has an amazing sense of humour though his jokes are, shall we say, different - but admittedly I laugh so hard I almost cry. Today, this day, 50 years ago, a man of stature, a man of grace and a man of power was born.
Now I have no idea who this man is but our dad just happened to be born on that exact same day and we are the lucky ones.
Happy Birthday husband person
