Grown-Up Birthdays

There is nothing "magical" about being an adult and having a birthday.  I am not one of those that gets sad or depressed because I am getting so old.  I do not count the days down to the dreaded milestones.  I didn't cry when I was 30 and I doubt I will lose sleep over being 40.  But, I do miss the butterflies I used to get when I was a kid.  I miss the anticipation of a party or what surprises my parents had in store.  Then there was the hope that my friends would decorate my locker even though I threatened them if they did.  There was the much anticipated 16th when I got my drivers license and the okay to date.  18 brought with it that no-longer-a-kid title and 21, what's not to love?  I could legally drink and gamble (not much of a perk!) but more importantly, official adulthood.  What exactly does 37 get you?  It's really just another random number.

I have always loved having a spring birthday.  The clothes are cute, the weather is turning, the spring flowers are popping up.  I couldn't think of a better time to celebrate.  The last few years have been a little tricky, however.  With boys that eat-drink-and sleep baseball my birthdays often get a little overshadowed.  The first major tournament of the year usually falls on my birthday.  3 years ago I was able to watch Douglas play 3 games in a row to take the Runner-Up trophy.  I couldn't have asked for a better day (well, 1st place would have been nice). The past 2 years I have been pregnant on my birthday.  That makes it tough to really enjoy birthday shopping.  And, last year Russell took Douglas to baseball, I took Stockton to baseball and then helped myself (with my little Mason-in-utero) to a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger at Wendy's. PATHETIC!  No time to go out, life didn't stop for me and I have to say I was a little bummed.

I refused to have a repeat experience this year.  The day started with Russell ditching his workout so I could do the treadmill, in peace, before he left to work.  While on the treadmill my boys brought me cards with personalized notes inside. What a super impressive husband to think of cards the day before so I could get them first thing in the morning!  My sister accompanied me to Heartland so I could get supplies to make my first ever Mason scrapbook page.  She held Mason while I shopped.  We then went to a nummy lunch at Training Table, #25 Turkey Bacon Swiss sandwich, mayo instead of ranch.  I retreated to my basement where I was able to make one scrapbook page.  I still need to do the journaling but the hard part is done! The boys both had practice again and refusing to cook or eat by myself we took two cars to an early Cafe Rio dinner and went our separate ways for the evening.  I ended the night with American Idol and a Chocolate Fudge ice cream cone from Baskin Robbins.  I also got a raincheck for Tepanyaki which I took advantage of Friday night.  I got lots of phonecalls, thoughtful gifts, and emails and I guess I have come to the conclusion that feeling special and knowing you are thought about on that one day a year is what adult birthdays are all about.  It was a good week.