Well, lets face it. My history with Birthdays is not that great. In years past I have had pretty crappy birthdays mostly spent in the ER, bailing people out of jail, or missing someone. Some years it was even a mixture of the two. I never grew up getting extravagent parties, but that I will never look upon that as bad because my upbringing made me the person I am today. The last two years I have actually spent pretty quietly. Last year I was taking care of my Grandmother in Arizona, and the year before that I was living in Everett with my parents and if I remember correctly we just had a quiet dinner at home.
This year has been different.. this year snuck up on me in the simplest of ways.
My day started out awesome when I went to breakfast with three close freinds. It was great, and I am so thankful that I was able to celebrate with them. They all know that I have a bit of a dislike for my birthday, but they love birthdays - so we compromise and I don't put up a fight for them acknowleding it and they keep it low key. I fully expected for that to be the last of any birthday stuff this year.
Then, I came to work...
In my world I don't tell people when my birthday is, and that rule seems to apply extra in a workplace setting. When I left for work I had curled my hair because I decided that that little confidence boost that it gives me was by birthday present to myself and then I had made myself a smoothie as a birthday sweet treat. I fully expected to maybe have a few people comment on my good mood and I would just tell them that it was a good day to be extra happy. I got here though, and I came upstairs and was waiting off to the side of the desk while the previous shift finished with their guests, and my manager Jay came up behind me and wished me a happy birthday. A suprise in and of itself at first. A pleaseant one though. For some reason it mattered to me that he knew (even though I know he gets told by HR when it is. They even supply him with a birthday card) and, that he made it a point to say it to me. Everyone else at the front heard him of course and wished me happy birthday as well, and even though some of them had just found out about it, them saying it still mattered to me. About ten minutes later the bar tender comes around the corner with a birthday cake complete with candles and ice cream! Jay had bought me a small cake and when the cooks had learned who it was from they got a little excited and added their own little flair. It was so cool. the last Birthday cake that I can remember is the one that my best friend had made me right before my accident three years ago. The rest of the day was normal. I had a few people that are just stupid, and a few guests that even wished me a happy birthday. My friend Rose even drove all the way out to the village to get me from work. She gave me a pearl bracelet. I even think it might be real.
My birthday was great. What made it better was that it was subtle. In the past it has been pointed out to me that I do not like attention, or recognition. I think that that is wrong now. I like recognition just as much as the next girl, I just don't like to be the center. I would much rather someone be sneaky about it than make a big production out of it.
So , I am now a quarter of a century old, and I feel I have started it off right.
