Holiday weekend? What month is this??

So I sent my mom a flowering plant for her birthday, which was yesterday. I got home at like 6pm on Wednesday and tried to order for the next day on flowers.com, but they told me I was too late to have them deliver it the next day. So I went to the Beaverton Florist's webpage (www.beavertonflorist.com) and ordered this flowering plant and of course there was no issue. All my info (address, phone and stuff like that) is to Rhonda in Beaverton, so I paid for it and went on my merry way. Spent the day at the Sunset in the ZH with the Ceruttis and their guests and even phoned my mom to wish her a happy birthday (the Ceruttis have a NY cell still with unlimited minutes - so like its like calling from NY to Oregon, very handy, not like having to do an internet call from dialpad or paying thru the nose direct).

Got home at like 6 (again) and found a bunch of emails from Rhonda. Well, I saw one email from Rhonda (there were others but I didn't notice them yet) - this one was entitled "Mom's flowers" or something like that. So I pulled it up and she said BF had called and they didn't have that kind of flowering plant, what do I want instead, let her know by 1pm (it was 4pm her time at this point). In a panic I typed back, "I'm here! Is it too late??", grabbed my headset and dialed her office off dialpad in a panic. Got her voicemail - "Hi you've reached the voicemail of Rhonda Mount, our office is closing at 3pm for the holiday weekend, please dial blah blah blah for immediate assistance.." - and I go, "Holiday weekend?" WTF?

I know my mom's birthday is June 30 and that was in my head but the whole "it's the 4th of July" thing has been lost on me. I have not driven by parking lot firework stands nor watched Waterfront Park slowly build itself up for the Blues festival. I have not had the day off secretly in the back of my mind, the way you do when you know you have a 4 day week coming soon. I don't work. It's sunny and hot every day. One day melts into the other (literally at times). Summer is Fall is Winter is Spring. So it sort of threw everything into a tailspin to me I guess. It's the little things like that that make me realize where I live. As much as I don't really need the Spanish and I can get Oscar Meyer hotdogs and Aquafresh Whitening toothpaste at the Walmarts, every now and then something interrupts my everyday non-thoughts and pushes me back into the reality that I don't live in the US anymore. At least for now.

Anyway back to the flowers, the other emails Rhonda sent me basically indicated that though she was giving me the chance, she gave me a deadline and then made an executive decision to choose another flowering plant - so that worked out fine and Sandy at the Beaverton Florist got the goods delivered for a fabulous 78th birthday. Crisis averted, and a good plug for them.

Back to my regular life of every day being pretty much just like the day before.