Today is July 11th. I suppose--SUPPOSE--it's time to retire my birthday for the year. SIGH. If you haven't noticed, I'm a lover of birthdays. BIG time. Especially mine. I do not understand these people (AHEM, MOM) who be-moan their birthdays as if it should quietly be whisked away and ignored. A birthday is a personal holiday. One where you get to celebrate YOU with all of your family and friends, what's bad about that?
I mean, we're all getting older. I'm older today than I was yesterday. I'll be older tomorrow than I am today. It's an inevitable process, and we're all in it together. No one's getting younger (well, except for Demi Moore and Christie Brinkley...I mean, seriously, have you seen them recently? What the heck is in THEIR water? B*tches. ;) I mean, honestly, if nothing else, just be happy you made it to live through another rotation of the Earth around the sun, make a wish and eat some damn cake, okay?
So I figure, if there's no way out of getting older, you might as well enjoy the process, right? Right. Which is probably why I'm borderline OBSESSED with my birthday. Here are a few reasons why I ♥ my birthday:
1. It's the first day of summer. This was probably the single best reason I enjoyed my birthday as a child---no school! Summer vacation! Pool parties and weekend long sleepovers! My mom did a heckuva job throwing my birthday parties when I was a kid. Plus, kids love summer. And while I've grown to prefer fall over summer as I've become an adult, there is still something magical that happens when June hits, and the "countdown" to the 21st begins. It's like I'm eight years old and just starting summer vacation all over again.
2. I share a birthday with Prince William. Even though I'm totally Team Harry now, I used to think William was the bomb dot com. And judging from the obsession with that whole Royal Wedding thing, a lot of other people still have a soft spot for young Wills. I'll take it as just another reason to ♥ my birthday.
3. It's sometimes Father's Day. In fact the year I was born, it WAS Father's Day. I'm not a big fan of the years it DOES fall on Father's Day, 'cause I don't like dualing holidays (no sharesies!) but for the good dads out there, this is yet another reason why my birthday is a fantastic day.
4. Duh, it's June. Yes, this may overlap a bit with reason #1, but I believe it bears repeating. All the perks of summer, without the sweltering heat of July and August. June means summertime, pool parties, vacation, beach, barbeques, block parties, crab feasts, running through sprinklers, snowballs (never did I know this was a regional thing, I'm so sorry for those who live in states where there are no snowballs, NO they are NOT the same as sno-cones!), and so much more. Love June.
5. June 21st falls on the cusp. Which means its the last day of Gemini and first day of Cancer, as far as astrology is concerned. This used to drive me crazy when I would read my horoscope...am I a Gemini? A Cancer? What's my deal? WHICH ONES ARE MY LUCKY NUMBERS? Then I realized...I'm both! So June 21sters have the benefit of reading both horoscopes and picking which one they like better--SCORE!
I usually see myself as more Gemini. Until one day my boss, who VERY surprisingly is an astology buff (I say very surprisingly, because she's very logical, type A, and left brained--one who I NEVER would think would buy into that astrology "mumbo-jumbo" til she explained to one day, "it's just statstics, it makes sense!") said to me, "Ya know, I can totally see you as a Gemini-Cancer. Your Cancer side keeps your crazy Gemini in check."
I'm still not sure if that was a compliment or an insult...
6. Summer Solstice. My birthday is, in fact, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. When I was a little kid, I used to think this meant that my birthday actually had more hours in it than any other day, and I spent many years dumbfounded as to how my birthday actually EXCEEDED 24 hours. I felt so sorry for those poor December 21st winter solstice kids who barely had any time to celebrate before the clock turned to December 22nd. Then one day I got it...the most amount of DAYLIGHT than any other day. DUH. Felt slightly cheated, but whatever, I'll take it.
The Summer Solstice is a pretty exciting day as far as mythology and history is concerned. It's the day where the sun appears to standstill in a fixed position for the whole day. I spent my 18th birthday at Stonehenge in England, with all the pagans and druids who were excited to watch the sun rise between the two main stones. It's the most "sacred" day for them, as many believe Stonehenge was a center of spiritualism more tan 2,000 years ago.
Mark that as the only history lesson you will ever receive on this blog. History lesson ovah.
So I'm obviously a bit wack-a-doodle when it comes to my birthday. May 21st begins the official countdown, as it marks the one month deadline. It's when I first start saying, "my birthday's coming up!" June 7th, is usually the official "kick off" date for birthday celebration, which means I can begin birthday activities without feeling TOO obnoxious...it is within the two week window, anyway.
Between the 14th and the 28th are the MAJOR celebrations. All family events, parties, get-togethers with friends, happy hours, all of that can happen during this time, and if you're around me, expect to hear about my birthday A LOT. TRENDING TOPIC NASRENE'S BIRTHDAY.
I reserve the right to continue celebrating my birthday until July 4th, since that's the day my mom was due to have me in the first place. Which means, 30 years ago, any of those day theoretically COULD'VE been my birthday, so let's keep the celebration going...
I give myself a week after the 4th to come down off of my birthday high. No one likes a hard crash back to un-birthday reality, so I like to take it slow, and easy myself out of birthday mode, which usually takes a week.
Which brings us to today, July 11th. The official "retirement" of my birthday, until the whole process starts up again next May 21st.
:)
Have I annoyed you yet?
I have to admit, though, that since having a child, my birthday has begun to take a backseat to Sadira's. When she was smaller, I routinely remember FORGETTING exactly how old I was, as one year blended into another, as those non-milestone late twenties birthdays often have a tendency of doing.
"Am I 28? 27? Wait, didn't I turn 26 last year? Hold on, lemme count '81, '82, '83... I'm 29, right? RIGHT?"
Not cool. I found myself falling into the trap that I SWORE I never would---losing sense of self to become someone's "Mommy."
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
I swore I'd never do it, I wouldn't wear Mom jeans, or a get a nice sensible haircut, I will not stop wearing makeup, and I'll continue to listen to Top 40 music with swear words. I WILL have a margarita on a weeknight, and as God is my witness, I will not get a nice, reliable family vehicle. NO NO NO! NOT ME. I REFUSE!
Yet, here I was, forgetting my own age, yet quickly and easily could rattle off Sadira's, "Oh, she's 34 months and three weeks...4 days shy of 35 months." It's one of those things that you swear won't happen when you become a parent, but inevitably do. Like saying things like, "don't make me ask you twice!" and "how many times do I have to tell you..." or "do you want Mommy to send you to time out?? Well, do you??"
So in an attempt to "take back" my birthday, combined with the celebration of a milestone birthday, I was determined to make 30 memorable.
Apparently my co-workers, friends, and family had the same plan in mind. :)
It started the day before my birthday at work. Since I would be out of the office on my actual birthday, they tried to catch me off guard. I came in to a decorated desk.
And they decided to dress me up. Do they really think I'd be embarrassed? I love this stuff. I eat this sh*t for breakfast with glitter confetti on top.
Followed by surprise cupcakes. Delicious, amazing, decadent cupcakes...yumm...
The next day was my actual birthday, June 21st. We headed to New York for Solstice in the Square, and did yoga in the middle of Times Square. After all that yoga, we needed......CANDY!
After that we decided to head over to Serendipity for some frozen hot chocolate, cause you know...we needed MORE sugar. Absolutely delish!!
The next day was party day. I was so so so excited for this party. My prize for being the top fundraiser for my big rappel was exclusive use of the Sky Lounge for an event for up to 6 hours. This type of event would usually cost a cool two grand. A luxe event like this is definitely not something I'm used to. I decided (in true Gemini form) that for my party we'd enjoy the lavish setting, with a casual affair...one of my favorite summertime activities: a crab feast!
Major thanks go out to my Mom for all of the amazing food and drink...and steamed crabs!! Her friend Linda did all of the cooking and did an amazing job. The crabs came from my favorite local crab shack, Salty Dog's.
Oh, and let's not forget the personalized mallets. :)
The beautiful dishes Linda created
My bday shoes :)
The view as guests started to arrive
It was truly one of the best birthdays to date. To be surrounded by so many great friends, in a beautiful location. My mom really went above and beyond to make sure the day was great. Thanks, Mom!!
This birthday was definitely one for the record books, thanks to all who made it so special for me.
1 comments:
LOVE the pic of the DC area Nov. 2007 mamas!!!!!!
Post a Comment