Victoria’s Birthday

I am still not over the cough that I have been battling for three weeks now, but I am being told by many that the duration is about typical for those that have had the same symptoms. There is nothing that can be done for it, so I try to protect myself from getting worse as my body heals. With that in mind, I did not go soul winning Saturday. Instead, Mama and I went to the church and prayed. I prayed at the altar while Mama prayed in her classroom. We were there about forty-five minutes. It was a way to help while I still convalesced. Some shopping at Walmart and we were home by early afternoon. She and I both rested as we waited for Victoria to get off work. We had planned a birthday outing for her. The caveat was that Victoria has not been feeling well either. She is struggling with the same persistent cough that I have as well as a stomach issue that will not go away. Mama and I did not know if she would feel up to the outing. 


When she got home about 3:30, she was energetic enough to let us take her out for the evening. We headed to Southlake so we would eventually end up near the Apple store. I wanted Mama and Victoria to see the store so they would be able to see the various sizes of Apple watches. We have talked for a few months about getting one for Mama. She has seen Apple watches that several people have but I wanted her to see the two sizes and the assortment of bands available. So, we headed that way without a definite destination for dinner. As we drove, Victoria and Mama looked up restaurants in that area. There was a dizzying array of eateries available to us, but nothing “sounded good” to Mama and Victoria. As we got near to the hospital where Mama had her surgery, I suggested the little restaurant Mama and I had gone to after her first manipulation. It is called Breadwinner’s Café. We were almost to the point of passing the exit as they agreed to go there for dinner.


When we got to the restaurant, the parking lot was empty. Victoria and Mama were debating if the place was open, but that is the same thing Mama and I saw when we went there the first time for a late breakfast. Now we were there for an early dinner. We were welcomed in and sat ourselves – away from the door. It was cold and very windy outside. We had a great dinner. Victoria got the meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Go figure. The portions were laager than we could eat at one sitting, so we took home a lot of leftovers. The food was very good. It turned out to be a good choice. The waitress even sent several pieces of sweet bread home with us. That would have been enough but Mama and Victoria passed the bakery case on their way too and from the restroom, so they stopped to get a couple additional items. When Mama explained that we were there for Victoria’s birthday, we were given the pastries for free. That thrilled both Mama and Victoria.


The Apple store is in a quaint, upscale shopping area only a few miles from where we ate. All the stores are stand alone and the area is landscaped and decorated to give it an air of openness. Welcoming sitting areas. Fountains and benches. Vine covered trellises. It would be more fun in the warmer months, but we rarely shop in that area. Where we parked was a couple blocks from the store and Mama began to question if I knew where I was going as we walked in the cold and wind. Once at the store she was overwhelmed. There were probably one hundred people in the store. Twenty-five or so were employees. But the store was large enough that it did not feel crowded. We spent a lot of time looking at and trying on watches. Swapping bands. Experimenting with the two sizes as Mama sized up how the larger watch would look on her wrist. She determined that she needs the bigger on to be able to operate it efficiently. Victoria liked the smaller one. Mama discovered the Apple Pencil. She loved it. When she showed it to Victoria, the response she got was, “It’s a stylus”. Yep. But Mama loves a stylus.


We stopped by the Cheesecake Factory to spend a gift card we were given for Christmas. It was enough to buy three pieces of cheesecake…almost. That place is expensive! It is a good thing we decided not to eat there. There were fifty to sixty people waiting to be seated when we go there to buy an extra dessert. Good thing we are limiting the sweets in our diet.


Victoria needed to stop at a bathroom twice before we got home, but she enjoyed the evening none-the-less.