January 19, 2008
Best Birthday In A Long While
Birthday #28 was never supposed to happen. Yet on January 13, 2008, it did. And unlike it’s predecessors of the last decade+, it was not a trauma for the record books. Hallelujah.
Sunday morning I woke up feeling good and headed to the bathroom where I took a while doing some beauty thing. When I came out Sean, who normally sleeps late, had already cued up some of our favorite birthday songs (chief among them, mcchris telling me to “put a smile on, cuz it’s your birthday, bitch”) and my beloved Silly Symphony “The Cookie Carnival”. Morning bedtime cuddles and anthropomorphic cookies are a good way to start a birthday, fo sho.
The day before, a card arrived from my friend Stacey, and I opened it first thing on the 13th. Geez, I almost cried it was so sweet. I get cards nearly every year either for X-mas or my birthday that say “Grand daughter” (or sometimes just daughter or sometimes even great grand daughter) but this is the first time that I’ve ever gotten one that says “Friend”. Not to say that friends have never given me cards, but this just struck such a chord. She drew inside and underlined all the parts she wanted to emphasize and said the kindest things. I am so grateful to have her in my life. It’s hard to compare high school friends, who I was close with but who rarely had my best interest in mind, but that’s all I have. In all my life, Stacey is turning out to be the best friend I’ve had.
Since it’s Sunday morning, Sean went to the farmer’s market in Hillcrest while I got ready for church. First time I went to church on my birthday, and it was one of my weeks to volunteer, too. This was THE way to start my day in order to get my priorities straight and get some perspective at a time that I usually go batshit crazy. I wore the shirt and matching pin that I finished the night before that proclaimed my victory last November. On an olive green tunic top with puff sleeves and an open back, I appliquéd purple striped words that said “NaNoWriMo WINNER”, and slapped together what was possibly the most “together” outfit in recent history. Had a wonderful time at church, but kept crying throughout the service. My simply being alive and 28 was a lot to take in that day. Still is.
(I was bummed that no one asked me generic “what’s up” or “what are your plans” questions, cuz I didn’t get to tell anyone @ church that it was my birthday. The dude that I was paired with during volunteering is more talky than questiony. And I was in my super fancy outfit, too, which no one said anything about. Can you tell how totally I do some things in order to get a reaction? Why dress up unless it incites awe or pleasure in others? Why have a birthday unless it can be celebrated with others?)
Upon return home (after the big 3 block walk) I found that Sean had gotten me my favorite Stargazer Lillies from the farmers market. Now, we generally don’t do flowers. “Why not just get potted flowers? How silly and wasteful cut flowers are!” But on a few occasions, they have been nice treats. Today was such an occasion. Another discovery was the Amazon box that arrived on Friday, unbeknownst to me. I begged Sean to procure me one of them fancy microfiber, lint-free shower towels. Bugged him about it for weeks beforehand so we would remember, cuz we have history of disappointments like that. “Please get”, “I will”, “Sorry, I forgot”. That pale pink towel was one of several “small” things from the day that made me feel loved and satisfied. I’m so damn practical. Gimmie a towel, I’ll give you my heart. (And you’ll give me a pen…)
With a 40% off coupon in my fist, we headed to Michael’s to tackle the mounting “crafty to-buy” supplies list. I got some badass Crayola markers to replace my cheap-o set that I’ve been using for about 10 years. Also got some valentine sprinkles and stickers and “paint markers” for card making next month. Gawd, I love making V-Day cards. It was so warm that we walked around for a little while at the outdoor mall.
With the sun blazing down, in what was probably the hottest day of this winter, we rode our bikes to Bird Park at the tip of Balboa Park. We weren’t there for terribly long, but took time to lay in the grass and play a little frisbee. I mostly used lefty for throwing and catching, and besides a few embarrassingly wonky tosses, I did alright. Someday I’ll be ambidextrous.
If you can believe it, there was some cleaning during the day. I thought my rad friend Stacey might end up coming over to “drop off raw treats”, so I gave the kitchen some lovin’ while Sean biked to the movie store to rent the 3rd Pirates movie. We’d been “saving” that movie for a bit of an occasion, simple because it seemed epic but not entirely interesting: like it would have to be viewed during an event to be worthwhile. True dat. What a totally discombobulated entry into the trilogy. It was like a string of gags that bore no resemblance to the first two movies. While there was no precedence for it, watching Elizabeth be the toughest character in the movie was really cool. And how she and Will didn’t end up together? Just, wow. New Disney can be an unexpected treat sometimes. Oh, and Sean made me some badass vanilla soy ice cream with magic sprinkles! I didn’t want to do cooked cake this year so we ate raw cinnamon rolls from Peace Pies, but then I got the sugar lust and begged for some ice cream. Tee hee.
And note to self: I didn’t drink a drop this year. Was it a coincidence that my first dry birthday in about a decade was also the best? Perhaps partly. I still smoked because, yo, that’s what us hippies do when they “party”.
Oddly, I got a call from my dad (who I generally don’t ever talk to cuz he can’t be bothered with me) and we talked for a few strained minutes. Mom called late at night and she and Belle/Travis sang happy birthday, which I LOVED. I don’t get why I dig it so much, but I really love hearing people sing happy birthday to me. Anybody, anytime, anywhere: sing it to me! (The Unbirthday song counts, too!) Alison also left me a voicemail on Skype, which consisted of her “telephone psychic” character that she got from Stephnie Weir/MadTV, which makes me crack up. She “sensed a lot of good regions for me in 2008″ and oh man, it was just hilar’. Also got e-mails from Russ and Stacey and a ghost from Michigan. These remembrances make my day.
So Stacey didn’t come over that day, but a few days later I picked up my raw treats and they ruled! Cinnamon rolls with peppermint frosting and a brownie with frosting. Who has ever given me a better edible treat?
It’s still not familiar yet, but saying or thinking about being 28 (nearly 30!), is not as bad as I thought. There is a growing sense of freedom that comes with it, which I won’t bother to explain just yet. I’m so thankful to be here, to be 28 and have Lord knows how many years ahead of me. It was a badass birthday. Endless love for all of you who helped make it so.