You’re 12 years old Miss Ainsley… Happy birthday to you!

Birthday starts with a “B” (so does Beaupre and blog) so I’ve gathered special B words that remind me of you:

Bright  (intelligent, perceptive, an achiever)

Beautiful (always have been, always will be)

Brave (you’ve bravely gone through some challenging times)

Blossoming (you’re starting to become the real, future Ainsley, no longer a kid)

Bon Appetit (you love to bake)

B-ball (your favorite sport)

Boundless (what life has in store for you)

Bellatrix –  Grammy and I love you to Bellatrix and back.  It’s a blazing hot bluish white giant star located 250 light years away from us in the constellation Orion.  It’s one of four stars used for celestial navigation (a big deal) and the 25th brightest star in the night sky.  It’s a famous star, known as the “female warrior.”

On June 19 Grammy and I drove to Patriot’s Place in Foxboro.  Sounds like fun, right? Unfortunately I was there to have surgery on my rotator cuff – not watch a football game.  My shoulder has been hurting for 8-10 months and I’ve been getting weaker, so it was time to get ‘er done.

The surgeon who worked on me – Dr. Oh – is one of the talents in the world of shoulder surgery.  He’s worked with Patriots and Red Sox players.  I was in good hands, and within a few hours of getting to Mass General/Brigham & Women’s hospital, we were on our way back home, Grammy taking over the driving duties.

I’ll feel crappy for 4-6 weeks, sleeping in a recliner, wearing a sling day and night, not being able to drive or use my right hand for anything. But you gotta do what you gotta do and suck it up to get to a better place.  I’ll do lots of physical therapy, but in 6-9 months I’ll be back in the game.

It’s weird – last year Grammy was down and out with her hip surgery; this year it’s my turn with shoulder work.  Sometimes in life you have to go through challenging times to get to a better place.

I was so happy and a little emotional seeing your drawings, cards and balloons when I got home. You made my day!  I’m so lucky to have you in my life.  Love you lots & lots forever.

photo below: Papa is obviously not pleased to be in this situation. Lefty better step up his game, he’s got a lot to do with righty out of commission.