Instagram Message: The light fixture explains it all. Who wouldn't grow up wanting to go to epic parties with home decor like that?
My birthday is only a few days away. Last year, I promised in writing, on this blog, that I was going to throw myself a party and document it. Well, sorry to break it to you, there isn’t going to be a party because it’s a Leap Year. {Mic drop} Let me explain. My birthday fell on a Friday last year so I imagined a big party on a Saturday night surrounded by my friends and if you read my post I made it sound like this party would be epic. I'm blaming it on Leap Year because now my birthday falls on a Sunday, not a Saturday. Sure, I could have had a party the day before my birthday - which is not only acceptable these days, it’s pretty much a given for people to celebrate their actual day of BIRTH on a totally different date. I prefer to stick to the real date because I’m old-fashioned (more like superstitious). Besides, Minnesotans go away to their cabins for the weekends so Saturdays are hit or miss in the summer.
Sunday parties are tough because Sundays are family days. Why make someone choose between family and friends? Of course I could have had a family-friendly party. It didn’t matter, the timing was a wash because the day after my birthday is the first day of school for 99% of the schools around here. Which means zero guests would have made it to my Sunday “Fun Day” birthday party because almost all of my friends have school-aged kids. Over the years I have learned that my birthday will always be difficult to schedule around first days of school.
What’s another reason for skipping a big shindig this year? The thought of milestone birthdays and how people really get into the spirit of someone’s 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th etc. is really cool. There is some unwritten rule that people will just make time for the milestone birthdays. They plan months in advance and even travel to attend someone’s party or weekend. But I’m turning 47. That’s as uneventful as watching paint dry. These odd birthdays never stopped me from throwing my own parties. I could care less that I was turning 23 or 40 - I just liked to throw parties. This year, 47 wasn’t calling me to whoop it up. Not because I’m getting older, I’m still a whooper, I just didn’t feel like being the celebrant.
Party in Long Beach, CA. July 2009.
Kristin was pregnant with her second daughter, Summer, who was due in Sept 2009.
And Beau was 6-7 months old. We all ate home made tacos on the beach and partied. Then on my actual birthday 8-28-09, I had a bunch of ladies over for my official 40th birthday party.
And finally, in full disclosure (but off the record), I will share that every year since the hub has been employed by the NFL, my birthday has fallen during the worst time for him. It’s when teams cut down the roster from like 100 to 20 players! I’m exaggerating but you get the picture. It’s an intense time for everyone involved. It has to be tough for the hub to feel like celebrating with me when he is telling players to pack their bags and find a new team. This year, on my birthday we will play the third (which is usually the best) of the four preseason games. The vets and the rookies will work together to put on a good game but the next day could be rough.
Even though our birthdays are almost 2 months apart, we always celebrate. Because of Kristin, all the friends would meet up at Baxters in Fullerton or ABC Club in Orange or Bobby McGee’s in Brea when I came home for college breaks. Fun times with Fun Chik.
Ok, enough of the "pity party". The thoughtfulness of this post goes to my BFF. When I went away to college I literally left all my friends behind. But I never had to worry about setting up times to see them individually during my breaks at home. That’s because Kristin would organize everyone to meet at a club or a bar and all I would have to do is show up. It was an amazing thoughtful pinch and I will always be grateful for it. Reflecting back, it was almost as if she was throwing me a birthday party every time I came home. May I remind you that this was long before you could load a calendar event on FB because it was even before we had cell phones. If this could be done without technology, it can certainly be done now. So I’m taking a page out of my thoughtful friend’s book and coming up with a plan to invite everyone from all walks of my life - cousins, high school, college, work, NFL friends, mom friends, yoga pals, country clubbers etc. to meet up at a venue for drinks, food and music to dance our asses off! I want to have epic parties for real without having a reason to have them. The actual birth date (or not) shouldn’t even be part of the plan. I DON’T want to wait for my 50th birthday because I’m impatient and I DON’T want to have to think about school the next day or how many NFL players will be sent home. I want to stop talking about why I am not throwing parties and just throw one already! Again, in writing, I am putting it out there to the universe, that I will have a party - soon.
Pinches,
Barb