Happy (Belated) Birthday To Me

Another birthday has come and gone. This year on Tuesday, August 4th I turned 34-years-old. It’s hard to believe that another year has gone by already. I don’t even really feel my age most of the time. Some days I mentally feel like I am still a teenager while other days my body and memory issues make me feel much older than my 34 years. It doesn’t help when you have younger (but not much younger) siblings who remind you that you’re as “old as dirt” and that some of your favorite songs came out over 21+ years ago now. (You know, songs like “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys or “Genie In a Bottle” by Christina Aguilera.) Geez, I feel old!

On Sunday, August 2nd, my mom had a very small gathering for me for my birthday that included myself, my mom, my sister, my two brothers, my one brother’s girlfriend, my sister’s girlfriend, and my one friend Candi.

I had another friend who was supposed to come but unfortunately her car broke down on the way to my moms’ house. I felt bad that her car broke down coming to see me plus she wanted to give me my gifts so I left the party to go meet her and to make sure she was okay. It was like well over 90 degrees outside and felt even hotter so my mom also gave me some cold drinks to bring her.

My mom cooked lasagna and stuffed shells (which I helped make the shells since that’s usually my specialty) for the gathering for my birthday and she also got me a really yummy ice cream cake.

I hadn’t slept much the night before the party and pretty much what little sleep I did get was broken and restless. I felt like a total jerk and fell asleep sitting at the kitchen table while my friend Candi was talking to my mom and I. By that point, I think it was somewhere around 6-7 at night. By the time everyone left, I was so ready for bed!

There are two reasons my mom wanted to celebrate my birthday on Sunday instead of on Tuesday: (1) My siblings magically all had off of work that day and (2) my mom had to have a minor surgical procedure done on my actual birthday. My mom kept apologizing for not being able to do anything on my actual birthday but I kept reassuring her that it was totally fine and that I understood.

My birthday celebrations stretched over the length of a few days; from Sunday to Tuesday. Today was the day that was like, “Okay, birthday time is over. Time to get back to reality.”

From Monday afternoon until late this afternoon I had stayed at a friends house and just hung out and binge watched a few seasons of Shameless. (Which I just recently started watching and I completely fell in love with this show. I am almost on season six and only have a few more seasons to go!)

The day of my birthday we had that tropical storm they called Isaias in my area and it poured so much that everything started to flood really bad. There was even a woman who lost her life when her car got swept away with the flood waters on Main Street a town over which is really unheard of for our area. Needless to say, between the torrential downpour and the pandemic there really wasn’t much for me to do but I still enjoyed myself.

With the Amazon gift card my friend got me, I purchased myself a little birthday gift. Well, maybe more like a few little birthday gifts. Plus, I even got something for my mom too. Some of the items were delivered today while I have to wait a day or two longer for the rest.

I got myself this tree of life looking necklace (pictured on the left) that happens to be one of those essential oil diffuser necklaces. All you have to do is put a few drops of your choice of oil on this felt pad that goes inside the necklace and then it’s all set to go. It came with 16 different felt piece colors to swap out and they are also washable and reusable. On the back of the necklace it reads:

“Always remember you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know.”

I just thought the saying on the back of the necklace has a lot of strong meaning to it and was just a perfect reminder of the things that I am always seeming to forget about.

I also bought my mom and I a different oil diffuser necklace that it round and has stars on it that takes these little round diffuser balls. Plus, I bought two different sets of assorted essential oils and this adorable vintage late 1800s style moonstone ring.

I ended up spending a bit more than the gift card was worth but that’s okay. At least I was able to get my mom a present too. I wanted to get my mom something as a token of appreciation for everything she has done for me and for still trying her hardest to make my birthday special regardless of my age pretty much every single year.