Happy birthday to me!
Twenty seven years ago, your lives were all changed for the better - I was brought into the world by two people who hopefully haven't regretted it since. No, but really. I like birthdays. If you couldn't tell.
I took today off work. People think it's crazy - it's just a birthday, and the older you get, the less they're celebrated. No one likes getting older after age 21, right? True, sort of. But I took today off. Because my birthday just so happened to fall on a Friday, giving me a 3 day weekend, and because it's my damn birthday and I'll do as I please.
I also packed my birthday "weekend" (because you shouldn't just get one day) full of stuff I wouldn't normally do. I'm writing to you from the comfort of my couch, feeling the warmth of the morning sun let in from the windows behind me. It's 8:41, and I just got back from a 9 mile run with my best friend in the most beautiful running weather this world has ever seen. I wanted to go write and drink the iced coffee that Rob surprised me with when I got home on a bakery patio somewhere, but couldn't bear to leave my dogs - they're sunning in front of the front door and soaking up not being left alone all day like usual. I opened the windows. It's not even 9 a.m., and this is the most perfect morning in the world.
I am going shopping later today. Months of weight loss have left my wardrobe hurting, and I can't wait to add some great pieces to it. I'm going to lunch, I scheduled a long overdue massage (courtesy of a gift card I've been hoarding since Christmas), and I have dinner plans with my future husband tonight. I'm getting drinks with my best friend and her brand new husband, and this is what birthdays are about. Tomorrow, I will act like I'm 22 and wear a fantastic pair of heels on a party bus like you'd do when someone turns 21. It will be glorious.
But what I'm trying to tell you is that I am in no way trying to play a "this is all about me" card in the typical, selfish sense that you're probably thinking about. What I'm trying to tell you is that everyone should do this. When you're young, you get birthday parties. There are dinosaur themes to explore, giant toys to be gifted and cake to be eaten (did I mention that the best fiancé ever is getting me a big fat German chocolate cake from my favorite bakery?) and new gadgets you MUST have. There are milestone birthdays - your first "double digit birthday," 16, 18 and 21. You're entitled to celebrate those because life hasn't hit you yet - there are no responsibilities to get in your way, no "real life" woes to be concerned about. Life is glorious during the early birthdays.
But the older you get, the more you're owned by other people. The government, your boss, your kids, your job, your mortgage, your debt, your bills. You spend so much of your adult life "playing the game" and birthdays often go unnoticed, or you find yourself not wanting to celebrate or not wanting anyone to go out of their way for you.
Take my advice: Go out of your way for someone's birthday. Send the card. Book the party bus. Make reservations. Don't act your birthday age. Take the day off work. Pull your kids out of school and go to the zoo. Write from the comfort of your couch. Sleep in, or enjoy being able to get a long run in without having to get up in the middle of the night to do it. Eat lots of calories and allow the entire day to be about you. Make it about you. Accept the free drink, make plans, invite everyone and take lots of pictures. Surround yourself with people who want to make it about you.
The other 364 days out of the year will not be about you. They will be about that mortgage, that boss, your kids, your significant other or, in my case, my dogs. They will be about the grind, the real world, the obligations, and other people's weddings, babies and birthdays. But one day is about you. It's okay to be selfish, to be excited about your birthday and to accept an offer when someone wants to take you out, buy you a drink or celebrate. You get a day. And anyone who tells you otherwise is just jealous they can't let go enough to do it too. In a world full of so much paperwork and bullshit, taking one major "personal" day a year isn't asking too much. Really, it should be a requirement.
So here's to the most beautiful day we've seen in Ohio in weeks - and to the very last birthday I'll have being a Mayberry (seriously, moment of silence for when I have to drop that last name, because while I love Rob, I'm slightly heartbroken). And when it's your birthday, remember that you are worth celebrating. You are worth taking the day off work, blasting the music loud and eating a big fat cupcake. You are worth the new dress, the fancy heels and the free drink. You're worth every damn bit of it, every damn year.
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