Mitchmas (29), Part 1: The Stuff Of Legend
At the end of my meeting with Elana on July 21st, she started asking me about my birthday plans. I was planning on going on a peddle wagon downtown, and initially I had been planning on inviting Elana. Since she had told me she was pregnant 20 minutes before this and she wouldn’t be able to drink, I knew she wouldn’t have fun. Noah always comes to my family birthday dinner, but this year he was out of town. Since I wanted to reconnect with Elana’s boyfriend, Leo, anyway, to fill the void left by Noah, I invited Elana and Leo to dinner.
As you may recall last year, I got a venti-sized version of my Starbucks drink and immediately spilled it in the New Story parking lot. On Tuesday, August 18, 2026, after I picked Paige up from work, she walked over to Giant Eagle and bought me a canned Starbucks coffee so that the same thing wouldn’t happen again.
The next day, I called Mom after work to talk about dinner for that night, and then I ordered the free birthday coffee from Starbucks. I got home at 4:00, put the coffee in the fridge, and then, at about 5:45, Paige and I got in the car. We drove to Barnes & Noble as we did last year.
As I’ve mentioned before, I have been listening to audiobooks because if I’m not reading something that I’ve written, I feel like I’m being lazy. I’m going to Barnes & Noble constantly to fill up my physical book collection. I only got 1 book this year. It’s called The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens. It’s the first book in a duology, and it’s about a journalist who interviews a convicted killer who was released from prison because he is about to die of old age anyway. After the duology, there is a robust spinoff series following a pretty major supporting character, which I also really enjoyed (though after doing research for this installment, I realized I have not finished the entire series).
After we got the book, we drove right across the parking lot to a restaurant called Bravo. Paige and I arrived first, then Elana and Leo, followed by my brothers, and finally, Mom and Dad. After dinner, we went to my parents' house for cake and some gifts.
As I’ve said before, since 2021 (Season 4), I have written a version of this installment every year (except for 2022). It’s always about my family going out to dinner with Noah. As Paige, Elana, Leo, and I walked out of my parents' house, Elana turned to me. “Are you writing about this?” She asked
“Of course,” I exclaimed.
“WOW, so I get to be Noah this time!” She smiled.
“Yeah, I guess,” I laughed.
“It’s just kinda crazy. I’ve been listening to you talk about this dinner for years,” Elana explained, “and now that I’m here, I feel like I’m the stuff of legend!”
To Be Continued…
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