The Birthday Crazies

Pretty girls in pretty dresses

Today was my birthday.

SI eating matzoh

As I've already said, it was a non-event.  And this was fine.  So how did I commemorate the anniversary of my birth?

• I personally responded to all the very nice things people said to me on Facebook.
• My husband ditched class to drive to the 'burbs to surprise me with a GIANT kosher-for-Passover cheesecake.  Nom nom nom...
• I harassed some of my classmates via email to get their share of our group project to me (with no success).
• I got involved in a fight about circumcision online with some very rude and offensive other mothers.  (Yes, circumcision is a very touchy subject.  No need to tell me that I'm a child abuser and pedophilia advocate because I plan on having a bris for my sons if they ever come into existence.  And please, dear readers, do not start sending me links to websites run by "intactivists."  And please, don't compare it to female genital mutilation.  They are entirely different, even if they might both be considered either "circumcision" or "mutilation."  For once in our lives, let's just be nice to each other.)
• I played a lot of Bananagrams with my mother, and did a bunch of winning.
• I ate a chili rellenos burrito
• I got irritated with Aunt Genocide for crashing my facebook in a tequila induced bout of silliness while I tried to play Scrabble
• I accidentally missed my chiropractor appointment
• I nursed a NyQuil hangover and ate leftover charoseth all day

DD and a crayon

And thus I aged.  Nobody in this house seems quite sure how old I am, not M, not Grandmommy, and not yours truly.  We all have to stop and do the math.

And I don't care.  I don't know how old I feel, but I think I might actually feel my age.  It's not something that I'm used to.  And it's really, really nice.  I like being my age, whatever that is.

I like having two little girls who want to give me hugs and kisses and don't care that it's my birthday.
I like that my husband prioritizes giving me a sweet surprise over going to class once in a while, even if it's a bad idea.
I like that I'm on top of my school work, even if everyone else in my class seems incompetent.
I like that I can remain civil in a conversation with a horde of angry people spewing vitriol.
I like that I can beat my mom at Bananagrams, but I like even more that she's here to play games with me.

SI the angel

I like leftover charoseth and cups of tea.  I like cheesecake.

I like my life.  I love my life.  No matter how irritated with Aunt Genocide I get, no matter how exhausted or sick I might be, and no matter how much work I still have to do in the morning.

I'm pretty freakin' happy.

I'm 27 years old today (right?).  I'm the 27 year old mother of two beautiful little girls.  I'm a 27 year old student who's getting so close to finally graduating that she can taste it.  I'm the 27 year old wife of a 28 year old brain cancer survivor.  I'm a 27 year old skin cancer survivor (I lost another bit of flesh to that particular monster on Friday, btw).  I'm a 27 year old artist and writer, learning every time I practice the crafts, and coming to terms with the idea that this will never be what I "do."

I'm a 27 year old crazy person, goof ball, spaz, what-have-you.

DD the angel

I don't know what life is supposed to be like for 27 year old women.  I get the feeling that for most of our generation, our 20s are some sort of limbo, where we don't really know what we're doing or why or how we're going to start doing something else.  And that pretty much sums it up for me, too.  Except that I'm doing the wife and mother thing, instead of the clubbing and partying thing.  Because I was never into clubs or partying.

I know that I'm supposed to be freaked out by nearing my 30s, but I'm not.  I couldn't care less how old I am.  All that matters is how I feel, and how I feel is wonderful.

I'm back below my pregnancy weight, even if it's distributed differently now.  I'm happy with my new mystery dysentery lifestyle, even if it means I pay for eating cheesecake in a whole new way.  I'm happy with my family.

And now I know I'm starting to ramble, to drag on a bit.  Because I'm tired and I have to get up and do the whole student/mom/wife/daughter thing again.  And it can be exhausting.

But I'm happy about it.

Happy Birthday to me.  :)

Hugs for everyone!