Happy Birthday, to me

It was my birthday last week: I'm 36 (yes, Beck, you may be surprised all over again: I'm still one year younger than you.) We had a tremendously big party, I wore a tiara; there were chicken wings, there was bourbon. It was the best of times ... it ... was ...

Hey. Wait a minute. I've got nothing to complain about.


[unless you count getting REALLY WINDED in front of everyone while blowing out candles]

My friend L, possessor of the ears into which I pour such bitterisms as "I forget how to have fun," and "We have no friends," and "I go to bed before the bars even open," and assorted such self-pity, grabbed my arm and leaned in close to make herself heard over the mid-party din: "Look!" she said "You have all kinds of friends! What a wonderful party."

I do. And it was. More than 30 people came, the most our house has ever held, by a long shot. They admired the woodwork. They brought thoughtful gifts. They laughed and teased and ate cake. I snuck them, two by two, up the back stairs for the 'secret tour' while Munchkin slept at the front of the house. It turns out not only that we have friends, but that we have groups of friends--professor friends, friends from Pynchon's office, local friends from bygone days and contexts, faraway friends who have moved near in new circumstances, neighbourhood friends from both our addresses.

[The morning after recycling bin]

Recently, I gave the finger to 2008 and hoped that 2009 would bring happier days, an end to complaining and panic at long last. So far, so good. We have wonderful friends, willing to come out in a blistering snowstorm. We have the financial wherewithal to put together a big bash, to hire a bartender. We work together so well as a family that childcare and party planning were so seamlessly coordinated. We have a big house, with plenty of room to share. Our hearts are open and our smiles, finally, extend all across our faces, from chins to tiaras, erasing our worry lines in a fit of laughing.

2009--and 36--is going to be awesome.


[I mean, there's plenty of cake, cards, and goofy grins, right?]