Birthday

Now friends, most of you know how I thoroughly dislike my birthday. It is a combination of bad birthday’s past, and the general belief that every day of my life is a cause for celebration. I do believe, however, that my dislike should be surmounted and that it is a pretty good marker for reflection and goal setting.

That being said, this past birthday was pretty close to perfect. I slept long, woke early, cleaned the way I had planned for weeks, ran a great 9 miles (more on that later), did some yoga, made great food, showered, and listened to my records, hung out with people I love, and generally exhausted myself. There were no extravagant gifts, so I did not have to get upset (I am silly) and yet there was just enough love that by the time we went out with friends I was pretty much ready to burst with happiness. I spent a good four hours dancing around my living room to the amusement of my boyfriend and my roommate, and needless to say, myself.

My mother brought me roses and a cheesecake, my godmother a comfy sweater, and my brother a great big hug. My friends were utterly thoughtful and gave me things that I had broken but loved and wouldn’t both to get again myself. A great gifts came from Danny and the records that make me feel like I am RICH beyond belief. I never thought that these things could make me feel like I had a million bucks in the bank, but great music, I guess, is riches to me!

The second great gift is my boyfriend. I am going to rant a little on him so if you aren’t into hearing gushiness then stop reading here! This weekend he proved, yet again, how much of a great man he is. And ladies, you know what I mean, we have had the discussion on what it takes to be a man, and applied to our friends, dissecting them, pulling apart pieces of what kind of strength it takes. Well, here is this man. He is attentive at every possible moment. He listens to the point of remembering details that I don’t, and past the words too (His birthday gift was a big French press- which he decided on after remembering how I disliked the small size of the last one that I broke, and how I had been lamenting the lack of early morning coffee since the coffee shop closed. Not too much, but still enough to prove something. And PRACTICAL and USABLE – not just stuff!!). Sunday I woke up weird – I was sore from the run, sore from cramps I had not expected, tired, dehydrated, I apparently had a weird dream where I yelled at him because I woke up feeling like we had fought, and was just unhappy. He wrapped me up, squeezed some of the pain away, asked if he could make me breakfast in bed, and took me for a walk. He was gentle enough so that I couldn’t tell until later how he had used his tremendous strength to a)soak up my sadness b)understand it was not personal and c)try to empathize. I am so surrounded by love in his presence that I decided it feels like being in a womb (weird comparison?). WHAT A MAN! What a lucky woman I am!!!!

Of course, I am lucky. I have you as friends to read my inane thoughts! Thanks for being around guys – I love you !