to share about my birthdays
I don't mean to brag, but I throw a good birthday party. Not for my friends, but for myself. My birthday was, and still is, the last hurrah of summer. And growing up in a large family your birthday was your time to shine. You were given free reign to be selfish, which is rare in a family of 8 kids. Perhaps this is a perspective that I do not share with any of my siblings, and my spot in the family may have something to do with this (youngest), I'll have to ask them... then again, maybe not.
When we were young my mom would let us pick the meal we were having. One year I was really in to pizza, so my mom let me have a few friends over to make pizza and then spend the night. We were pretty young, I think only 5 or 6 and it caused one girl so much anxiety she threw up right after supper. All I can remember from that party was that her puke was purple. That's pretty epic. How does your body take a whole wheat pizza crust with green olives and turn it purple? That was some pretty intense anxiety. And why my mom let me see the puke, I'll never know, perhaps she was trying to make me less selfish on my birthday.
When we were young my mom would let us pick the meal we were having. One year I was really in to pizza, so my mom let me have a few friends over to make pizza and then spend the night. We were pretty young, I think only 5 or 6 and it caused one girl so much anxiety she threw up right after supper. All I can remember from that party was that her puke was purple. That's pretty epic. How does your body take a whole wheat pizza crust with green olives and turn it purple? That was some pretty intense anxiety. And why my mom let me see the puke, I'll never know, perhaps she was trying to make me less selfish on my birthday.
Another year, I had a water balloon fight. And I got the bumps on top of a giant water balloon. That was my oldest sister's idea. She didn't really think it through though since the cushion under the water balloon was a cement pad. Ok, so that isn't the best example...
When I turned 19, I planned for my family to go to an outdoor symphony. It was sweltering, and beautiful. It was a festival and the whole thing ended with Beethoven's 5th, complete with cannons. I felt like the whole southwest of the province came out to celebrate my birthday. Did I mention it was hot? Because my dad bought me a beer. Turning 19 meant I was allowed to buy alcohol and it was a really neat experience. I don't remember particularly enjoying the beer since I don't enjoy beer, but the whole experience was just so neat and adult like.
My 22nd birthday included my parents and my brother toasting my new teaching contract over a delicious dinner at a great bistro. For my 26th birthday I went for supper with a few girl friends and gave them note cards as to why they were invited and why they mattered to me. And then I went up in a hot air balloon with my bestie because it was my champagne birthday, 26 on the 26th. I like to make them monumental. For my 27th I had my friend's over to my house and did it up old school, complete with candy bags to take home. But my one friend nearly ate everyone's goody bag, I now call her the candy monster.
On my 28th birthday I was in Ontario and in a long distance relationship. My sister took me to the zoo and I got to feed a giraffe. I saw a mandril, cougars, lions, flamingoes and even zebras. It was pretty great. We went back to her house for curry and then a cake was delivered from a local bakery. My boyfriend (now husband) had it delivered with an appointment for a massage the next day. Lovely.
29 was pretty good too, I went for supper with my boyfriend/husband, and then we had a fire pit at a friend's house. 30 rocked my socks though. I planned an afternoon of tennis, followed by a bar-be-que of bratwurst, and then watched Hunger Games! (You must always yell Hunger Games! as though you're the pink haired lady Sophia Vergara played on SNL) since I wanted to read the books first. And my husband went way over the top, he bought me a car. If your mouth didn't drop there I think you might be more of a princess than me.
This brings me to the reason I am writing: I am worried about this year's birthday. I have to work. I haven't had to work on my birthday since I was 16. And that birthday was not the greatest. My dad yelled at me at 6 in the morning because I was laying on the couch waiting for my brother to take me to work on the golf course, but not on the glamourous golf course, instead I was in the dish pit for a ginormous tournament of 250 people eating steak. And I got called a boy while bussing plates during the dinner. It was not a sweet 16.
I turn 31 this year which has me a bit freaked. You'd think that 30 would be the frightening one, but for me being in my thirties has me overwhelmed. I will be closer to 40 than to 20. I understand that being one day over 20 means that you are closer to 40 than you are to 20 since you cannot go back in time, it was just some math that shocked me momentarily. I planned the 30th birthday to be awesome and to do things that I love in order to reduce the shock of turning 30. It worked. But this year I have said yes to working, and I am worried that I may have a bit of a break down while working instead of celebrating another year of awesomeness. I will keep you posted.
That's all.
My 22nd birthday included my parents and my brother toasting my new teaching contract over a delicious dinner at a great bistro. For my 26th birthday I went for supper with a few girl friends and gave them note cards as to why they were invited and why they mattered to me. And then I went up in a hot air balloon with my bestie because it was my champagne birthday, 26 on the 26th. I like to make them monumental. For my 27th I had my friend's over to my house and did it up old school, complete with candy bags to take home. But my one friend nearly ate everyone's goody bag, I now call her the candy monster.
On my 28th birthday I was in Ontario and in a long distance relationship. My sister took me to the zoo and I got to feed a giraffe. I saw a mandril, cougars, lions, flamingoes and even zebras. It was pretty great. We went back to her house for curry and then a cake was delivered from a local bakery. My boyfriend (now husband) had it delivered with an appointment for a massage the next day. Lovely.
29 was pretty good too, I went for supper with my boyfriend/husband, and then we had a fire pit at a friend's house. 30 rocked my socks though. I planned an afternoon of tennis, followed by a bar-be-que of bratwurst, and then watched Hunger Games! (You must always yell Hunger Games! as though you're the pink haired lady Sophia Vergara played on SNL) since I wanted to read the books first. And my husband went way over the top, he bought me a car. If your mouth didn't drop there I think you might be more of a princess than me.
This brings me to the reason I am writing: I am worried about this year's birthday. I have to work. I haven't had to work on my birthday since I was 16. And that birthday was not the greatest. My dad yelled at me at 6 in the morning because I was laying on the couch waiting for my brother to take me to work on the golf course, but not on the glamourous golf course, instead I was in the dish pit for a ginormous tournament of 250 people eating steak. And I got called a boy while bussing plates during the dinner. It was not a sweet 16.
I turn 31 this year which has me a bit freaked. You'd think that 30 would be the frightening one, but for me being in my thirties has me overwhelmed. I will be closer to 40 than to 20. I understand that being one day over 20 means that you are closer to 40 than you are to 20 since you cannot go back in time, it was just some math that shocked me momentarily. I planned the 30th birthday to be awesome and to do things that I love in order to reduce the shock of turning 30. It worked. But this year I have said yes to working, and I am worried that I may have a bit of a break down while working instead of celebrating another year of awesomeness. I will keep you posted.
That's all.
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