Birthday

Today is my 34th birthday. I have never been one to hide from or decline birthdays. Birthdays are all about cake and celebration and indulgence, all things I believe in fervently.

The only downside to my birthday is that is falls so close to Christmas. A mere two and a half weeks after Christmas, it can sometimes be hard to celebrate appropriately. Everyone is always tired and run down from the holidays. The weather is almost always frigid and sometimes snowy (the worst possible weather). And with it so close to Christmas, it can be really hard to know what I want for Christmas. I am apparently very blessed because I always struggle to come up with gift ideas when family asks. I tend to get most everything I want or need at Christmas. I usually fall back on the 4 "B"s that I always enjoy - books, Bath & Body Works, and booze. A gift in one of these categories is never out of fashion.

Over the years I have had some memorable birthdays. There was one of the elementary school birthdays that was held at the roller skating rink. As hard as it will be for my children to believe it one day, there was a time when the skate party was the best thing going. You gathered your best friends, skated like fiends for an hour or so, then retired to a grimy party room for cake and presents. I even remember the cake - I requested a Mississippi Mud Cake from my mother. Few cakes have tasted as delicious as that one; surrounded by friends, high off of skating (or off the cigarette smoke that seemed to be omnipresent in the 1980s), that cake had a unique taste that I have never found again.

My 21st birthday was memorable. I spent that birthday in New Orleans, quite possibly the most wonderful, dirty, tawdry, accepting, magical city in the United States. I later spent my honeymoon there as well, and to this day, there is no other city that stirs quite the same emotions as New Orleans. There is a tangible presence there, a feeling that history, sadness, emotion and life are all tangled together, just under the surface. Then again, that could also be the humidity. Back to the birthday, however. My roommate and friend, Traci, had a boyfriend (now husband) whose family lived there and who also had a birthday around the same time. We all headed to New Orleans together for the weekend. I remember it was so cold and I remember eating beignets at some point in the night. Many of the other details are fuzzy. I do remember visiting the battlefield for the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, which I loved. Another way to guarantee a good birthday for me is to take me to a historic site or a museum.

When I turned 26, my husband surprised me and through me a surprise party, with the help of our parents. I never suspected a thing. We lived in Knoxville at the time. My parents came up for what I thought was a normal visit. We went out to eat (yummy Mexican). I remember after dinner begging to go spend a bookstore gift card I had received. They were all hesitant (much to my amazement and chagrin) but did agree. Only when we returned to our apartment in married student housing did I learn why. Justin had arranged to use a common room, and his mother had come and decorated. Some friends were there, waiting for the birthday girl to arrive, while the birthday girl was wanting to lose herself in the bookstore. All turned out well, and it was a birthday like none other.

I remember when I turned 30 that I was very excited. Being in your 30s seems so much more mature and elegant than being in your 30s. I imagined I would somehow gain a modicum of sophistication that had escaped me thus far. I thought I would somehow dress more elegantly, be wittier, throw scintillating dinner parties. Thus far, however, elegance, sophistication and wit have not magically arrived with increasing age. I may be more accepting of others and myself, but I don't think there is any mysterious alchemy of age that is going to make me elegant and sophisticated.

Today has been a quiet day. Hardy is getting over a stomach bug and Justin was in the midst of the bug, so we did not want to get out to spread our germs. I came home from dropping off the Sunday School lesson at church to find my sweet family had cleaned up the kitchen and blown up balloons, giving the dining room a festive day. We had cupcakes and pizza for lunch. I played Wii and beaded with Hardy. It was one of my happiest birthdays. I was able to spend the day relaxing with my family. We danced crazy to the Black Eyed Peas and just spent time together. I think as I age these are the types of birthdays I enjoy the most. Days spent with my family, noticing and enjoying all the things I love about my family.