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November 9, 2006
It's my birthday
But I can't be 29 again
Here I am, on my birthday, all alone and feeling slightly old. Sadly, I can't be 29 again this year, because Science Boy finally caught on:
Princess: How old will you be, Mommy?
Me: 29!
Science Boy: [suspicious face] Hey! You've been 29 for the past . . . FOUR YEARS! You can't be 29! You're THIRTY THREE!
Me: Crap! You caught me! Okay, I'm 33!
(Since I passed the dark side of 33 several years ago, this works for me.)
However, birthdays are a huge deal in our family (Science Boy's half birthday is the same day as my birthday, and yes, we celebrate half birthdays, yes, I'm THAT kind of mother) and I have to tell you . . . my birthday has NOT always worked out as I would have liked it to . . .
When I was in college, there was the birthday present from the slightly older (okay, fifteen years) boyfriend:
Me: I don't want a Porshe. What, am I going to park it in the dorm parking lot? Take it back.
Him: But --
Me: No, I still won't sleep with you.
In grad school, I turned 25 and believed that my life was over, because I was A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OLD and had yet to do anything worthwhile with my life, like cure cancer or prevent the common cold or find a way to predict the next season's hemline, thus earning me a spot on the Today Show as fashion diva. This ended in me driving away from life and the PhD program in Madison, Wisconsin, in the middle of the night with my crockpot precariously perched on top of the last U-Haul available, a very small one that said UTAH OR DIE on the side (I was headed for Ohio).
I've had birthday catastrophes that are not nearly as bad as, say, having an arm amputated, but seemed to come close:
The cake that SPELLED MY NAME WRONG.
The birthday dinner interrupted by one of my darling children coming down with stomach flu. In the restaurant. At the table.
The times I've had to get my own cake, since my darling husband was gone somewhere unreachable.
The birthday where my husband was flying his Navy plane somewhere in a combat zone, and people were shooting at him. (No "confirmed" missile attacks, he always says.)
So today, sitting here alone (Navy Guy had duty yesterday so I haven't seen him since Tuesday) with the pugs doesn't seem all that bad. And I heard a rumor of presents. Although only Jenny Crusie knows what they are, since my evil daughter whispered the news to Jenny Sunday at the booksigning. . . but I can pump Jenny for info. She's soft. She'll break.
And, as a special HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, I have a wonderful autographed copy of Beth's new book sitting here waiting for me! yippee!! And my lovely friend Cindy sent me a pendant that reminds me of Atlantis. And I'm sure there will be presents this evening from my darling family, especially my adorable children, whose most pressing thoughts these days run to some version of: "How many things can I stuff onto my letter to Santa?"
So here's hoping for a birthday that doesn't involve some sort of catastrophe, on this, my latest 33rd birthday. Although, I must admit, in the interests of full disclosure . . . I should have taken the Porshe.
hugs,
Alesia, older, not wiser
This blog was brought to you by Nearlyweds, a fun, funny novel about love, marriage...and one very exuberant dog.
Posted by Alesia at 8:18 AM | Comments (13)
Comments
I had no idea it was your birthday! Have a great one, Alesia!
Posted by: Cate at November 9, 2006 9:03 AM
Birthday disasters. Yes I've had a few. But most of mine happen on my familys. I've gotten two speeding tickets. One on my husbands and one on my sons. The last one caused my to miss the dual birthday/basketball championship party at pizza hut as I was explaining to the officer that the wrapped packages in the back seat of my car were not high explosives.
There was also the ninja turtle birthday cake for same son that was done in the wrong color as in cake lady I told you his favorite turtle was Raphael,not Michaelangelo and no his name is not Dew it's Drew. Same cake lady insisted to me that my son's name WAS Dew and I should get over it because it said so right there on the cake. I corrected that little mistake with a toothpick/cake decorator and that night Dew proceeded to barf cake with orange icing, not red. Sigh.
Gee, poor Dew seems to have a trend. On his sixteenth birthday, the I finally get my drivers license birthday we had a major snow storm and all government offices were closed. We live in the south. They freak out at a snow flake. Also my dad had a spell and we had to take him to the hospital and found out he'd had a stroke some months earlier and didn't even know it.
Wow, I'm seeing a trend here. Perhaps Dew should just take cover every year on 2/22.
So this year is one of those birthday milestones for me. Yes I will be forty Again. The husband is planning a party. Can't wait to see how that turns out. Maybe I should tell Dew to stay away.
Nah. He's my baby. He's worth the risk.
Posted by: cindy at November 9, 2006 9:03 AM
>>Same cake lady insisted to me that my son's name WAS Dew and I should get over it because it said so right there on the cake.
That's hilarious! I once had a woman in the Navy healthcare bureaucracy fight me for five minutes about the fact that "the computer" had turned the O in my son's name to an E. Finally, she looked at me in exasperation and said, "Why don't you just change his name?"
Posted by: Alesia Holliday ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.literarychicks.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at November 9, 2006 9:17 AM
Happy Birthday, Alesia! Always good to have fellow birthday girl in November (mine's at the end of the month). Here's to a non-stressful birthday.
Posted by: christina at November 9, 2006 9:21 AM
Happy birthday, Alesia! You make 33 look good, girl!
LC Eileen
Posted by: Eileen at November 9, 2006 9:54 AM
Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day.
Posted by: Maureen at November 9, 2006 1:28 PM
Happy Birthday, Alesia! You're a fabulous babe at 33, no matter how many times you've celebrated that particular number. :-)
I've had some pretty s**tty birthdays myself, including one where I was recovering from surgery and one where my house had burned down 3 days prior. Is it any wonder I'm not a big fan of my birthday? Although this year, I got a fab present -- my trip to the NJ conference!
Hope your day was non-catastrophic!
Rebecca
Posted by: Rebecca at November 9, 2006 8:29 PM
Happy birthday, Alesia!!!! 33 never looked so good!
Posted by: Lani at November 9, 2006 9:36 PM
Happy Birthday Alesia! I hope you gained as many new readers today as your real age *ahem* I meant 33 new readers today alone.
Posted by: Sheryl at November 9, 2006 10:35 PM
Happy birthday!
Another gal who celebrated her 33rd birthday for the umpteenth time this year :-)
Posted by: Michelle C at November 10, 2006 10:16 AM
Thanks everybody!! I had a wonderful birthday and am surrounded by flower arrangements, birthday cake, and the Star Wars action figures Science Boy got me for a gift. So when the writing gets tough, I can stage mini light saber battles . . . what could be better??
Posted by: Alesia Holliday at November 10, 2006 10:16 AM
Happy Birthday!
Posted by: TeresaH at November 11, 2006 5:07 AM
Star Wars stuff is ALWAYS cool!! Sorry I missed your birthday--kids have been playing SIMS nonstop all weekend! I was finally able to sneak a few minutes in tonight while cooking dinner, talking with my friend long distance on the phone, checking my email, and catching up on the several blogs I try to read every day.... Who says I can't multi-task?!!
I had a hard time with my 40th birthday myself. Something about remembering my mom turning 42 and thinking that she was old just made 40 seem, well, OLD! Took off with the girls to the ocean for a few days, visited some old haunts I hadn't seen since I was a teenager. It made it all seem ok.... I'm all for holding at 33, but my kids know better also...!! *grin*
Posted by: Sheri at November 11, 2006 9:11 PM
