The Best Birthday – a Day Early

I have been VERY down this week – Thursday evening, I spent the night camped out on the couch, totally zoning out in front of the TV, crying off and on. Why? Hard to say – a combination of things really, all of which I have little control over. But I am so sick and tired of hearing about horrible things happen to people I know, people I love, people I respect. I am sick of lazy people, I am sick of this state of this country, of the elections and the joke both candidates have become, the hundreds of people searching for work in my town, my work situation, Brian’s work situation . . .you get the idea.

So, the day before my birthday, I woke up and said, I need a pick me up like noone’s business. I have to shake off these blues somehow or my birthday this year is going to be total and complete crap. I didn’t feel like celebrating AT ALL. So, I got an E-mail from a local spa the night before offering a great pedicure deal and when they opened, I called and set up an appointment after work. Nothing perks you up like pretty toes.

With my appointment all set, I was determined to have a productive Friday. I had done absolute jack shit on Thursday, with my shitty mood and my unfocused mind and thank God, my boss was having the same day herself so she didn’t think much of it. I wanted to show her though, that I have a lot to offer, I work quickly, I can get shit done.

10am – my phone rings and it is the front desk at our firm. Can you come downstairs, they said – you have a delivery. FLOWERS! My eyes lit up but in the back of my mind, I knew they weren’t from Brian . . .and I was right. I was greeted by a pretty yellow, purple and orange daisy arrangement and once I opened the card, I discovered they were from my aunt. The card was just as pretty – a cat sitting in a window with flowers all around it and the note inside that said I was the best niece EVER and thanking me for all my support in her times of need. It made me feel so good and really picked me up.

I brought the flowers up to my office and after all of the appropriate ohhhs and ahhhhs from my co-workers, I got back to work.

11:30am – the phone rings again. The front desk – again. “I don’t know what you did today but you have another flower arrangement down here!” I smiled a big smile because I KNEW this one was from Brian. Once I rounded the corner to the front desk, I saw the most GIANT bouquet of white, long stemmed roses I have ever seen. They were so fragrant and had purple heather mixed in for accent colors – very elegant, beautiful and completely unexpected. And yes, they were from Brian.

So, I carted my giant bouquet upstairs and spent the rest of the day surrounded by beautiful flowers. I was so grateful and so happy to have people make the effort to do something that nice for you.

But the day just kept getting better and better – I headed to my pedicure appointment at 4:30, I was running a little late so out of breath, I check in at the front desk and apologize for my tardiness only to be told that my whole appointment, including tip had already been paid for by my friend, Carol. My mouth just fell open – she doesn’t have the money to be doing anything like that for me, but I know she always wants to show how much she cares and appreciates my friendship.

I had the whole salon to myself and I enjoyed a great magazine and got a pretty pink polish on my toes. I had an entire spa treatment on my legs – a mask, a wrap, a massage and now, I guarantee I have the softest feet of anyone you know!

I ran home because we had dinner reservations with Andy, Chris and the Little One but not before Brian gave me my next birthday gift. I got changed and then he told me to go to the frig. He pulled out a box with the prettiest little 6 inch cake with white frosting and 3 giant blue roses. We brought it with us to share with our friends after dinner. We went to a local restaurant where I got the best white trash meal a girl could hope for – hot ham and cheese sandwich on a pretzel roll with mojos! YUM YUM! On the way back to their house, we stopped at Starbucks to pick up coffee to go with our cake and then finally, we were able to dig in. Brian told me the cake was a surprise and where he got it was a surprise until I tried it. We had talked a few times about birthdays of our childhoods and I had told him my favorite flavor of cake was always spice cake and how you can’t find it anywhere anymore. Well – I was greeted with the best pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting I have EVER had! He got it from Indulgence, my favorite pastry shop.

It really was a fabulous day – and it wasn’t even my birthday! That would be today. I woke up this morning and opened all of the cards that came in the mail and the present my parents sent from Florida. And here I sit, watching my new Family Ties Season 3 and 4 DVD sets while Brian is out on a bike ride while the monsoon rains take a brief break. Yes – monsoons. It rained about 3 inches last night, they are calling for another 1-2 inches today and another 1-2 inches tomorrow. Right now, we are experiencing the remnants of the Pacific Tropical Storm Lowell. Sunday evening, we will be getting the remnants of Ike. If this keeps up, we are going to be boating to work on Monday.

So today will be vegging in front of the TV, enjoying some football – or at least, I hope I will if ND doesn’t get their asses kicked and then tonight, we have dinner reservations at Woodfire. Tomorrow, we are heading out to see “Burn After Reading”, a Coen Brothers movie. Brian is a BIG fan so it is nice to have a movie out he actually wants to see.

35 . . .damn. I am old.