Old Woman

I adore birthdays.  Absolutely adore them.  I love the idea of having one special day of the year that belongs entirely to you.  Well...belongs mostly to you.  Some of us have to share our birthdays with our brother, our niece, and our future nephew-in-law.  But whatever.  It's still MY day to do anything I want and feel zero guilt.

My day started out wonderfully.  Kitty made me a touching card and a bracelet.  Mykey produced one of my favorite candy bars, and he lovingly set up a balloon arch all by himself.  I was awakened by the sound of many popping balloons early in the morning.  I'm not sure if that's better or worse than an alarm clock.  

When the afternoon arrived, I wanted to eat ramen at a Japanese restaurant with my husband.  You see, my husband works a lot, and I desired a little bit of his undivided attention on my birthday.  That's what I desired, and even though I subscribe to the I-get-anything-I-want-on-my-birthday mentality, I received the exact opposite.   

Just as our delicious bowls of ramen hit the table, Michael's phone rang.  He answered.  It was work, calling with some crisis.  He proceeded to yak on the phone while I ate my ramen alone.  On my birthday.  Alone with a bowl of ramen on my birthday.  There are so many things wrong with that sentence.  (But the ramen was divine.)

That faux pas set the tone for the rest of my day and I felt a bit glum.  However, the evening improved when I was able to open my gifts: money from my parents and mother-in-law, and some adorable earrings from my sissy and brother-in-law.  He made the earrings himself! Mykey gave me heated slippers, professional teeth bleaching, and a hair removal system - body maintenance at 43 takes real work.  I also received phone calls and texts from people who love me, and it was wonderful.

Then we ate a gigantic chocolate cake just before bedtime.  I felt like Bruce from Matilda.

The next day I awoke still a little irked about my birthday lunch.  Our doorbell rang mid-morning and I was met with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  They were from Michael's office, complete with a note apologizing for ruining my birthday lunch.  Well, now I can't be mad anymore.  It was very thoughtful and it made everything all better.  It's funny how flowers can do that.

So now I'm 43.  I feel weird about that but also grateful for the life experiences I've had so far.  And I have a feeling 43 is going to be pretty special.

Happy birthday to me!