The Long Night-Day-Day-Night

Reading time 8 Minutes

What a weekend. It took me a few days to get back under my belt. But it wasn't a huge party at all, from that point of view. There weren't even ten of us. At least not at the same time. That's for sure. But the festivities went on all the longer. From Friday evening to Monday morning, if you like. The hard core of my girlfriend and I held out pretty well. On Saturday afternoon we lay down for two hours, which is not really sleep. Sunday, a similar scenario. And on Monday morning around four o'clock or so, I finally felt the urgent need to close my eyes. Listening and continuing to listen to the many great conversations of the weekend, that was all I could do. That was all I could do. Not even the eye control worked with my completely overtired little eyes.

It was foreseeable that this party weekend would stretch out so much. Yes, if not even secretly planned. Precisely because nothing was planned. At my age and with my lifestyle, it's not that easy to get everything or everyone under one hat. This one can't with that one, that one can't with that one. Half the people are abroad anyway or have to work. Then there's the matter of Corona. Oh yes, not to forget the families with small children. Saturday evening was not exactly what I would call family-friendly. And so the party stretched over several evenings, nights and days.

All photos in large format can be found in the gallery In bed with Paddy.

I provided something for every visitor's physical well-being in advance. At least that was the plan. I love it when a plan works. Be it the spicy Pringles crisps, which he actually can't stand, but finds so cool. Alcohol-free Tanquery Gin for the G+T lovers among us who unfortunately still had to drive. The Fever Tree tonic that she likes so much. The Botucal for my girlfriend runs out here anyway, as does my Aperol. The Chio cheese dips to go with the 12 kg of tortillas and chips, on the other hand, I wouldn't normally have had in the house as a convinced vegan. The 0.33 Coke in the original Coca-Cola glass bottle - not only for the sake of the environment, but also for the sake of better taste, I do without plastics wherever possible at parties - we would have had it here. But not the Jackie. With this order, I had to jump over my own shadow. Figuratively speaking. Physically, jumping is known to be somewhat difficult for me. On the other hand, buying lentils in any conceivable form is no problem at all. The main thing is plenty of liquid. What my food-allergic guests - who can't tolerate much other food - can't eat, we'll soon be chasing through my food processor. Turn it into a PEG-suitable tube feed. So, when I have a PEG. I have to get some benefit out of it. And I love lentils. And I miss lentils.

Well, to be honest, I don't just miss lentils. One of the many meals on offer during my birthday celebrations...

But it wasn't just me who tried to do something good for my friends, I was also given plenty of presents. Although I had actually asked for nothing to be given to me. And that's why I came up with something special this year. A fundraising campaign. And my, what a success. It really exceeded everyone's expectations. I initiated it all via Facebook. Simply because I'm an old bloke who doesn't know his way around insta and all that new-fangled stuff. Under the title „Patrick's birthday fundraiser for ALS-mobil e.V.“, I called on people to donate to this very association. Because it is financed exclusively by donations, it is dependent on them. The organisation itself helps and supports people with ALS. Because this disease brings with it many challenges, not least financial ones. It's important to remember that I'm probably the big exception when it comes to this. I've worked very hard for years, giving up holidays and weekends for 15 years or more. I would cheekily say that I deserve to be able to afford a lot of the things I need. But as I said, I'm probably the exception and I think it's great that there are still organisations and people out there who provide support in such cases. And so this year I wanted to make sure that these supporters also receive some support. Facebook suggested a donation target of €250. That wasn't enough for me. I doubled the amount and went one better:

Well, that's an idea. Before anyone asks me what you can give me... And to make sure the whole thing has a certain appeal, I promise to fill the donation pot at the end. So go on, donate diligently or do you want to make me poor? It's also for a good cause. ?

https://www.facebook.com/donate/774410683618091/10158601043850808/

What can I say? An incredible € 1,455 was collected. Three times as much as I had hoped for. Over 60 of my friends took part. That's hard to beat. A huge thank you to all of you. Special thanks go to my Abi year, who unexpectedly joined the fundraising round and contributed an extraordinary amount.

And then there were the gift presents to me. It's difficult to give me a gift anyway. What do you give someone who has everything? No idea. Anyway, I have no idea. You obviously do. Of such unbelievably awesome tiny things as a... yes, what do you even call it? scratching kit? From practical and useful things to decoration for my great new living room shelf, which was finally delivered recently after months of waiting.

Well, the shelf wasn't delivered quite right. At least it was partially delivered. KARE is inconsolable, but why do I have to order a wall unit and have 14 different shelves made of Italian natural stone? It's my own fault. But still cool. The missing parts will arrive next week. Let's wait and see if everything is really included. I'll tell you, in my professional life I had a lot to do with Italian suppliers. It's fascinating. Never before have I ordered ten devices from a series production and received ten differently produced items. Different components, missing components, different screws, sometimes screwed with a nut and sometimes without. Nuts, yes, you did get the impression that the Italian mum is sitting there in the morning with her third Spritz and is just cobbling something together to the best of her knowledge. But you have to hand it to the southern Italians. In terms of cuisine, what they offered when you visited them in Campobasso was unsurpassed. Just as we enjoyed ourselves there, I also enjoyed my birthday.

Thank you to you and all of you who have contributed and made this possible. I would also like to say a special thank you to the guys from my new nursing service who not only tolerate my escapades but also join me for a while as family.

Would you like to enjoy a few more memories of southern Italy?