My birthday was pretty much awesome. I was really quite ambivalent going into it, because my birthdays have a history of either requiring extensive planning by me (something I've gotten tired of doing) or purely uneventful. As in, "Oh, yesterday was my birthday... cool."
So I had mixed feelings about my upcoming birthday celebrations. I'm ego-centric enough that I want people to recognize that it's my special day, but I'm not narcissistic enough to advertise it so that people can't miss the fact that I'm turning a year older. Pretty much everyone knew about it yesterday, but that was thanks to Facebook and the publicity from my friends. Which is the best way to get attention on your birthday, I think. Anyway, I thought I'd compile a list of things that I loved about my birthday as a way of thanking my friends for making it the best birthday I've had since my 16th.
1. Savannah sent me a text that read as follows: Happy freaking birthday. I really love your guts. I sent this little text, with hope to drive you nuts. Love, me. :) And she sent it at 12:12am on the morning of my birthday, right while I was busy with... other things.
2. At work, if we want goodies to celebrate a birthday, we do it kindergarten-style and have to bring our own, so I hurried off to the Creamery to pick up a box of donuts. When I came into the office to drop them off before my class, I discovered that we had a big box of delicious cookies from our Wellness department (ironic? Yes. Awesome? Also yes). Granted, they weren't for me specifically, but still. It was a pleasant coincidence.
3. I also discovered that my coworkers had "vandalized" my workspace with banners, balloons, and an inconvenient amount of confetti, which I had to clean up at the end of the day to reuse on the next victim hapless enough to have a birthday.
4. Savannah bought me a bookshelf for my birthday. Happy day for the bookworm who needs more space for her books.
5. Tevan wore his long-sleeved gray shirt, just because he knew that it was my favorite, and he told me so.
6. My mom sent me a box full of candy bars. Trust me. This is a huge deal. It probably nearly killed her to knowingly put in that much candy instead of throwing it in the garbage.
7. A bunch of my friends took me out to Applebees to get virgin daiquiris. Yes, I'm aware that you don't have to be 21 to order them, but it's the essence of the thing that counts. It was fun.
8. Michelle came and partied with us, too, despite the fact that she'd had a hard day.
9. My cousin walked in the door with a heap of balloons and a great big Gerber Daisy in honor of my birthday. I've never gotten flowers and balloons for my birthday before.
10. My sister called me from an unknown number, while I was at work, just to wish me happy birthday. I appreciated the birthday wishes, even if they were poorly timed.
11. The number 21 seemed to be a recurring theme. I live in apt #21, turned 21, my pizza took 21 minutes to cook... Silly, but it made me smile, which is what matters.
12. My parents jumped on Skype to start a video chat and ask WHY IN THE HECK! wasn't I answering the phone. I apologized and proceeded to look for my phone, only to discover that I couldn't find it. I later found out that Savannah had confiscated it and turned it on silent. Thanks, Savannah.
13. I was no longer sore from hiking on Monday, which meant I could enjoy every minute of the day.
14. My good friend Will continued our tradition of "reminding" each other not to forget about particularly unforgettable events such as birthdays and sent me a series of memos about the fact that my birthday was coming up, just in case I forgot.
15. My grandpa, who shares a birthday with me, left me a sing-o-gram on my voicemail.
16. I fell asleep out in the sun and got a bright, though surprisingly painless, sunburn, which will hopefully turn into a tan. Mother Nature's little gift, I suppose.
17. Mother Nature also decided to unleash all her glory on my birthday, which was notable mostly because she was dumping snow on us a week ago. I'm so glad she decided to cooperate and let the sun come out.
18. I got a kind of twisted pleasure out of the fact that, though all of my friends were making fun of me for getting old, I could still point out that they're all older than I am.
19. My brother Ben, sent me this little gem.
20. And my parents, who were on the other end of the video chat when I showed Savannah and Tevan what it was, laughed super hard, despite the fact that they'd seen it tons of times already (no doubt Ben had it on replay for a while before he sent it to me). Proof that maturity doesn't necessarily come with age.
21. My boyfriend didn't buy me flowers or give me any presents that you can unwrap, but he still made the day special: in addition to wearing a shirt that he knew I loved, he smiled normally for a picture (which is a big deal... he always makes faces), picked up the tab for my food at Applebees and tried to get me to buy something for myself when I was perfectly content to just share with him, put together the bookshelf that Savannah bought me (or, well, started it, since he had to leave before he finished it), and sat outside talking to me for a long time, even though he doesn't talk much most of the time.
So thanks to everyone who made my birthday great. I appreciate it, and you do not go unnoticed.
1 comment:
Huzzah for Lynnae's Day!
I'm so glad you're well cared for.
I spent the day making The Most Amazing Dinner for Michael.
It was gourmet...it was the best salmon I've had in my LIFE. And everything else with it was perfect, too. WOW. I loved it (and I indulged in gobs of pride for every bite because I made it all). Mmmmm.
So I would have cooked for you, too, probably. Lately I really adore cooking.
Michael had a good birthday, too...June 2nd is simply wonderful.
(It's my brother Reed's birthday as well as my niece Esther's birthday).
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