Birthdays

Okay, so I am way behind, eh? 

(could you hear my Canadian accent there when I wrote that? heh)

So, yeah. The last week has been a bit mad. I did say this was going to happen, that I would have an insane schedule. Well, yeah. I’ve had barely enough “lonely time” to sit and just be. Birthday celebrations, a trip to BKK, and extra events at school. But don’t worry — I’ve already decided that I’m not getting out of this. I will still post. In fact, I will post extra to make up for what I’ve missed. So… I owe you (me?) 7 posts. I may have to double up, but they will get written. I have so much to say! 

Tonight, for now… I thought I’d reflect a bit on birthdays — appropriate seeing as that’s when it all fell apart in terms of posting to this blog. Heh. Last Thursday, exactly a week ago, was my birthday. It was wonderful. I am so blessed to have such kind and thoughtful and generous and FUN friends who cared enough to come out for a laugh and a drink with me last Thursday. 

I love birthdays — and not just my own. I love celebrating birthdays of all people. I love them because each one signifies one more year that I (or you) have been on this earth. I see a birthday as a true celebration of life, because not all of us will be here for our next birthday. So if you are here for it, it’s a true reason to jump for joy and live it up. As much as I grumble about getting older, my goal is to accumulate as many birthdays as possible. I want to keep being here!

I have had some interesting birthdays. Most have been spectacular, but not all. I’m not going to list them all here (dear gawd, that would be way too revealing!), but rather reflect on a few significant ones. 

• Fact: I have left two of my own birthday parties. In one case, I was sick and feeling unwell — but having SUCH a good time, it was actually hard for me to leave and go to bed while others were still dancing and partying. In the other case, I was having so much fun I knew I needed to take the party to the streets. My dear friend Anne ushered me and a few friends out the door and offered (!) to clean up for me. Both of these incidents were in my home. Both of them were in Qatar. Anne is a bit of a crazy saint. She’s still a friend I love, though she sadly lives way too far away to come to any more of my parties.  
• The two above birthday parties were also probably two of the most memorable, and for the right reasons. The first one — where I was sick and went to bed, in my own apartment, while the party continued — was my 30th, and I hosted a HUGE party with a very serious (as in seriously fun) disco theme. It was probably the biggest party I’ve ever hosted. People showed up whom I’d never met before, but I didn’t care as long as they were wearing an afro wig and sparkly pants. I planned the playlist for MONTHS in advance. I bought a lava lamp. My friends Rachel and Nadine and I had costumes specially made — we were the Bee Gees. It was one of the best times I’ve ever had — really, truly.

I’ll leave it at that for now… I can’t give away every birthday memory at once. 🙂

I know some of you reading have been with me for birthdays that I haven’t mentioned above. Please know that I’m thinking of you RIGHT NOW. 🙂 You know who you are. If you’ve spent a birthday with me, I think of you as someone with keys to my heart, as birthdays are special… therefore you are too!

And regardless of if you’ve spent one birthday with me or many, recent or long ago — I really want to say THANK YOU. Thank you for making it memorable. Thank you for being with me as I “cheers”ed another year. Thank you for being in my life! And I do hope you’re around for many more of both of our birthdays!