I am not one to flaunt and celebrate and make a big deal out of my birthday. I don’t want to draw attention to myself, and it’s definitely not my birthday “month” to make the shenanigans last even longer. In fact, I don’t even have it on my social media pages ON PURPOSE, so don’t worry if you’ve missed my birthday or don’t even know when it is. That’s sort of by design.
So, I recently celebrated a “milestone” birthday and I was more than willing to let it pass by just like any other. Just another arbitrary day with a few texts from family and close friends. Maybe a birthday card in the mail. That’s it. I don’t ever have gift ideas for people if they do ask what I want, and in general I don’t want “things.”
This year I did have a few requests from my husband, but true to form they were (mostly) not physical gifts. A few days before my birthday he happened to be playing handball and I asked him to bring home Jimmy John’s for dinner. I know, big ask there. But, I love their Beach Club sandwich and there isn’t a store close enough to us to get one very often, AND the kids won’t eat there so the opportunities are limited. On the day of my actual birthdyay I asked my husband to help get the kids ready in the morning for school so that I could do a certain yoga practice that I knew would run too late. The third request was that he take my youngest to swim team practice that evening.
These were really simple things, but this day turned into one of my best birthdays. Not only did my husband do the three things that I asked for, he also took our son on the dog walk in the morning (more time alone for me in the house — yay!). He also took him shopping in the afternoon AND left early for swim practice (again, more time alone for me in the house — double yay!). It was THIS introvert’s dream 🙂
And of course, in spite of not asking for any specific gifts, people gave me gifts. However, this year, I felt like those who did give me something TRULY knew me and gave very well thought out and meaningful items that I actually LOVE — which I think is pretty hard to do.
My husband is actually always good at gift giving (even for difficult “recipients” like me). He bought a game (Quintillions) that I had been wanting for several years. We played it once at a friend’s house and I was hooked. This was a WHILE ago, so not only did he remember this random game we played years ago, but they also don’t make it anymore. I’m sure he had to search and dig a bit on the internet, but he found a set in GREAT condition. It was the perfect gift. As I mentioned he also took my son shopping and somehow, my youngest found and picked out a fake potted succulent “for my yoga room.” I know some of you are cringing, but let me tell you, I have the blackest thumb alive and the ONLY kind of plant I can have is a fake one. It’s probably one of the better gifts I’ve gotten from my kids at this point (moms and dads, you know what I’m saying here). My daughter also somehow managed to pick out something that I love and will actually use — a set of nice gel pens in all sorts of colors. I do love a good pen 🙂 She also wrote me a very nice poem which I will of course cherish forever.
Now, please remember that I said I wasn’t trying to make a big deal out of this birthday. But, a few friends did SUCH a good job remembering and sending special things, that it kind of got me excited about it. Just a little bit. A very good friend surprised me with a gorgeous arrangement of flowers that absolutely brightened my day. And another friend got me a (beautiful) meditation pillow and I can’t even begin to describe how perfect this was. I had been toying with the idea of purchasing one for probably two years and had just never done it. She knows me, and it was a big risk on her part to buy a yoga teacher a meditation pillow (because I could have had one already!), but she went for it and it absolutely made my day. The card she picked out was ALSO perfect. There was a woman on the card drinking a martini (probably my favorite alcoholic drink with hard liquor). Prior to seeing this friend that morning I had ZERO plans to celebrate in any way other than maybe a glass of wine and going to bed at my normal (early) bedtime. However, after seeing the card and getting into the spirit of this “big” birthday I decided I should in fact celebrate with a martini. And it was delicious. And I still went to bed early. Let’s not get crazy here.
A yoga student of mine, who has also become a friend, was seriously struggling to come up with an idea but REALLY wanted to get me something. I told her that all I wanted her to do was join me for a yoga class with one of my teachers. We finally got it on the schedule and it turned out to be just after my birthday, quite by accident. She not only made my day by sharing the experience of the class, she also managed to find me a physical gift that was perfect as well. A 1,000 piece puzzle with beautiful butterflies. We haven’t cracked the box yet, but it will be the PERFECT way to spend some rainy afternoons this summer — and it will work to keep me and the kids entertained and working on something as a family. Another huge win!
I also gave myself a gift if I’m being honest. We’ll call it a little gift of self care. I do not enjoy talking on the phone. I especially do not enjoy the “obligation” of talking on the phone just for the sake of it being a certain day (aka, MY birthday). So, while I love my parents — and yes they are the reason that I have a birthday — I politely told them I was “disinclined to acquiesce to their request” to talk on the phone on that particular day. We texted. I got my traditional singing voicemail — my mom sings happy birthday in a voicemail, usually at a ridiculous time of day so that I can’t even get to the phone. And I talked to them on a day OTHER than my birthday 🙂
All in all it was the perfect way to transition into a new decade. Simple acts of kindness and love were all I needed to make this day especially memorable — even if I would have been more than happy to ignore the day completey. Cheers to another trip around the sun!
