As I celebrated yesterday ("celebrate" being a strong word, perhaps, for someone who spent 12 hours at work), I thought back to a lot of other fabulous birthday memories. Among my favorites:
2: Dad says October 20, 1980 was the worst day of the whole winter. Of course I don't remember this but he remembers the weather on every birthday I think I've ever had (the other kids, too). I think this is a farmer thing. Just last night on the phone he said the weather the day I was born was a beautiful fall day (I couldn't help but wonder if my arrival kept him out of the fields on a perfect day to harvest).
5: Going to the set of Romper Room and being a kid on the show with my neighbor, Joel. Holy cow was that fun. I thought I'd hit pay-dirt!
6, 7, 8, or one of those...maybe all of them: Waiting sooo patiently for my grandparents (and sometimes my aunts and uncles) to come to my birthday party. Being one of four kids, it wasn't often that I got all the attention, so those were days to savor!
9: So excited about my birthday that mom made me a special breakfast and I got to open my gifts at the kitchen table before school. I remember what I opened, too: pajamas.
10: Walking around school with a dozen stitches in my eyebrow after I'd walked into a door (actually, the door kind of walked into my face) two days before.
13: I got to have a birthday party with friends over (a first, I think) which included a bonfire, weiner roast and a hayrack ride. Lucky for me, it was a beautiful fall evening!
15: Mom was taking night classes and the other kids were at Youth Club (my birthday was on a Wednesday) so dad and I went out, just the two of us, for dinner at the Packinghouse. They've always had a policy where people eat free on their birthdays, so we just had to pay for dad's meal. The unfortunate downside was that I'd just gotten spacers in my teeth to make room for the inevitable braces a few weeks later and they hurt so bad I couldn't even chew.
16: Dad picked me up from school over my lunch hour and drove me to the DMV to get my license. (Thank goodness it wasn't a Monday, when they were closed--that would have been traumatic!) Though three squirrels jumped out in front of the car during my test, I passed. And when I dropped dad back off at home to head back to school with just myself in the car (the independence!), he said to me, "You control your destiny." I actually remember those very words to this day. That night I went driving with my friends Jen and Will. I actually just picked them up for ice cream. I wasn't exactly what you'd call a problem child, except for a few painful years in junior high.
21: As an RA in college, my biweekly night to be "on duty" (ie: manning the dorms, waking up in the middle of the night to let in people who had locked themselves out, making sure no guys were around after curfew) fell the night before Fall Break. It was also my 21st birthday, but I didn't want anyone to cover for me because they were all going home and I had planned to play the cards I was dealt. After going to dinner, I settled into my room for the evening...until about 9:30, when five or six of my RA friends, who were all supposed to be gone, stopped by. One covered for my shift while the others took me out to a bar. I had two mixed drinks and was home before midnight (like I said, total wild child...) but it was honestly the nicest, most thoughtful thing I think anyone has ever done for my birthday.
23: On tour in Houston, one of the final stops on our BH&G tour. I'm pretty sure we were at some place called Molly Malone's (or Molly Maggees? I don't remember) and Monday Night Football was involved. That's about all I remember. Toward the end of our five-month journey, I was so excited to head home that those days were all a huge blur.
29: Celebrated with all of my grandparents (at right). Every year since high school I get
a little sentimental on my birthday wondering if they'll all be around when the next one rolls around. So far, I'm still 4 for 4!30: Perhaps my favorite birthday. Chad surprised me with a trip to a cabin--Rachel and Paul came too--and then the week followed with several get-togethers with friends.
31: Relatively uneventful. Long day at work putting out a new survey, several TV and radio interviews and a media briefing. My friend Robert sent me a cupcake-shaped flower arrangement and mom's whole class called to sing "happy birthday." Our CEO started the monthly all-staff meeting with a birthday shout-out (umm...embarrassing...) and I heard from lots of friends through Facebook and email who remembered. Chad, knowing how tightly I was wound, gave me a gift card for a massage at a place in Old Town that I love, then made dinner while I took Lucy for a walk on a wonderfully crisp fall night. All in all, a perfect day.
1 comment:
Holy smokes, we've know each other for more than EIGHT YEARS?! Time flies. I remember your 23rd birthday party quite well. There definately was some shenanigans as we all were so excited to be heading home soon! I think the name of the place was Molly Malone's. I googled it and it was sitting way up north of Houston where we stayed. I think we should plan a reunion down there! After McNugget is born, of course! :)
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