H.B.T.M.

Today was my 34th birthday.  It's also the last year that I will be younger than my mom.  (Not really, of course, but the first time I remember knowing how old my mom was, she was 35. In my young, impressionable, 9 year-old mind, she was forever immortalized as a 35 year-old woman.)

For the 6th year in a row, I didn't get to spend my actual birthday with my husband, but that's not so bad anymore.  It's bummer, yes, but we work around it.  What's more important to note is what I did do today...because it really couldn't have been a better one.

Today, I did absolutely everything I wanted.  

I woke up an hour early, showered, did my face and hair, and drank piping hot coffee all by myself.

I made pancakes!

I wore sparkly jewelry because...why not?

I cleaned this house from top to bottom.  I mean, all the laundry is done and the walls are clean. (As clean as they are going to be, at least.  Some tiny boy at some point found a highlighter, which, to be positive, is better than a Sharpie.)

I got a manicure.  Well, I gave myself a manicure.  Same thing.

I ate a gourmet meal (provided by my mother).  Lobster roll and key lime pie? I mean, come on.  That ranks pretty high on the Perfect Meals for the First Day of Spring list.

I got flowers (x3)!

I made a protein shake in my new blender! (Omg, I really am old.  Because this is a birthday highlight.  And I'm not at all embarrassed.)

I am, at this very moment, enjoying a lovely glass of wine.  It won't be my last.

In a few moments, I'm going to take a hot, steamy, Epsom salt bath.

So, yes, my birthday was simple.  But it was also simply awesome.  I mean that.  I don't mind getting  older one single bit because 1.) I don't actually feel old and 2.) my life just gets better each year.  Eh, I have some tendonitis now and those fine lines around my eyes aren't quite "fine" anymore.  My circle of friends is a bit smaller.  My bright freckles have faded.  I worry a lot.  But I like where I'm heading. I have tendonitis from picking up my beautiful children. The lines around my eyes are from good times that I have had.  The friends I have are ones who know the good, bad, and ugly of me.  Nobody needs freckles.  I worry because I have a lot of people to worry about.  I love where I am in life.  I love the anticipation of where I'm going.  I love the ordinary, not-terribly-exciting business of being a mother, a wife.  I love my life, all thirty-four years of it.  

Shortly after Adam and I got engaged, I turned 26. I remember telling my sister on my birthday that year that it just didn't feel like a regular birthday.  She said, "That's probably because you already have everything you ever wanted."  Yes.  That's where I am at...again...at 34. Job, kids, marriage, family, social life, etc.  I'm where I should be. I couldn't ask for more.  And to those of you who play a big or a small role in the happiness of our lives, thank you. If you're thinking, "Does she mean me?" I assure you that I do.

Cheers to the next 34! 

Happy birthday to me.  Happy, happy indeed.