My Birthday: Part 2

I want to stop hating my birthday so I really gave it some thought yesterday (while sitting at two baseball games) and analyzed it to death and came up with this:

It might have started when I was in the third grade. My birthday landed on the last day of school and there was a tornado warning that kept us there most of the day. I was scared to death so that didn't make for a nice birthday. Then on my 12th birthday, I got the bike I wanted more than anything. It was a sunshine banana seat one and I was riding it proudly up and down my street when a huge mother crow thought I was threatening her nest and swooped down and pecked my head until it bled (yes, you can laugh...I won't be mad). My Papa joked that since my hair was like straw, she probably wanted it for her nest (and you people wonder why I hate the outdoors). I had a boyfriend that used to break up with me right before my birthday and then ask me out again right before his. When you are young and in love, you really are stupid because I didn't catch onto that until our third year dating and then he didn't do it anymore. To be honest, I don't know that it even had anything to do with my birthday but it always worked out that way.

Prom and my 18th birthday landed on the same day and for the most part, that was a good birthday. I got the promise ring I wanted badly and guaranteed plans but we got lost driving to the restaurant and ended up in the McDonald's drive-thru. I was the oldest of everyone I hung out with when I turned 21 so I ended up at a restaurant in the mall having my first legal drink. It wasn't really the club experience that I had thought of when I was waiting patiently for it to happen. I can't remember the birthdays between 21 and 30. You can read about my 30th here. Wasn't great. When I turned 35, Leo threw me a surprise party which I loved and was grateful for but when I looked around, I realized that besides my sisters and cousins and a neighbor that I had become good friends with, a lot of my friends weren't there. Most of my friends were women I taught with but I had been out of the classroom for 8 years and I don't even know if Leo had thought to invite them. For my 40th, Leo planned a dinner with my friends and I am still hearing it from my family that they weren't invited. Last year was just bad. Leo planned something that was very much the last thing I wanted to do and then I looked like a jerk because I didn't want to do it.

Soooo...I have decided that I am going to try something that I admittedly am not good at...acceptance. It is what it is. I am a mom so by definition, nothing is about me. I thought about the past year and came up with a list of bad and good things that happened. You have to acknowledge the bad because it makes the good that much sweeter.

Bad: Tongue Cancer Scare
         Someone close to me had health issues that I didn't blog about.
         Mammogram woes If you click on this one it's a two-parter. This one and the next day's.

Good: My blog's traffic more than doubled and I doubled the amount of followers.
           I purged the house.
           I entered the blog world and LOVE it! It is the equivalent of coming home.
           Both boys went to the Superbowl for their football teams and Belle cheered for Tommy's team.
           Gia took her first dance class. Watching them do what they love and do it well...one of life's
           biggest joys.
           The kids were healthy minus an illness on vacation which could be in both columns but I am choosing to put it in this one.

So, see...I need to look at that and see that there are more things that are good to focus on than bad. Even if it is just one thing or two things. The good still outweighed the bad.

It ended up being a decent day. My mom watched Gia so I could go to Nico's game (about an hour away). He won so I had to leave without him to my mom's for a delicious dinner. Leo and Tommy met us there (Tommy's team took 2nd in his tournament). My mom really did a great job of making it special...she had all of my favorite foods and bought me a few things I wanted. Leo and the kids gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card and a day once a month that is all mine! So excited about that. Not sure how it is going to work but knowing it's there feels like a light at the end of the tunnel. Nico's team made it into the championship so we headed back out that way to see him. They lost but coming in 2nd out of 14 teams isn't too shabby. Nico ended up being one of the tournament MVP's which was a nice end to the long two days. We went to dinner after and didn't get home until 10:00. I was bummed that there was no relaxing going on.

 Thursday I am celebrating poolside with my sister and BFF so this birthday still has some life it in. :)

Nico graduates tomorrow so today will be filled with cleaning and shopping when I would really like it to be filled with napping and writing. Two things that I didn't get to do at all this weekend.


Anyone else have any funny birthday story? Anyone else get attacked by a bird or get caught in a tornado?