Getting Lost but Enjoying the Ride

So my fortieth birthday celebrations have come and gone. The residue of them lingers in my memory and has lifted my spirits on the two "bad" days I've had this year. So far 2006 is turning out to be my favorite year yet. Quick rundown while I wait for my dad to finish running on the treadmill at my mom's real estate office (it's after hours) and have my turn.

My birthday celebrations (there was more than one hence the plural) began on the 31st of December and lasted until January 3rd.

1. My immediate family has had a progressive party every year during the holiday season since we all got our own places. It is usually sometime before Christmas so that we can go to everyone's house, see their decorations, spend time with each other and get psyched for the festivities to come. It didn't work out that way this year. Due to all sorts of scheduling conflicts the only date that would work was New Year's Eve. It was great in that it cut down the long waiting hours for the kids. The adults were shocked at how fast it went by. I got to do appetizers for the first time (been salad bar twice, desserts thrice and main dish most times.) The birthday part came in that I got a reply to a text I sent a friend much earlier in the day. He said he was sorry that he didn't respond right away but that he and his wife were buying a new bed. We got to texting, as we do, and it turns out that they needed to get rid of their old bed which was the exact size and type that I wanted to go shopping for at the end of the month. Joe & Liz Smith and Joe's nephew brought the bed over and gave it to me. The Smiths would not accept money for it. Liz said it was because they got the bed free but then they gave me beddings and pillows too....which I know they paid for. Then they both let me know that they were coming over the following day to spend my "official" birthday celebration with me. I just assumed that they wouldn't be able to because of work but Liz told on Joe (SO NOW IT'S ON THE INTERNET THAT YOU'RE NICE JOE-THE TRUTH IS OUT!) that he changed his work schedule so he could go. Of course that meant Liz would be able to come too. I was thrilled because Joe and Liz are two of my most favorite people on the entire planet.

I started this post on January 10th but quit when it was my time to hit the treadmill and ended up having to finish this post on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's. Birthday observed. Thank God for inspirational human beings that we recognize in holiday form.

(My dad and brother-in-law took the bed upstairs for me and propped it up against the closet. Much later in the early morning hours of the new year, I put it together alone. Story about getting pinned by other bed to follow in another post.)

2. New Year's Day dawned gray, rainy and windy. The storm just got worse as the day went on. At least it had been clear and dry for banging pots and pans at midnight with my nieces and nephews. My friend Shanda came down,
from the wilderness that is the Yankee Hill/Oroville border in Butte County, to spend the weekend with me as a birthday present. We spent time together in the early a.m. hours, after I left my family's new year's celebrations (with ten kids everyone usually cuts out before 12:30 to get them to bed. Although this year we kept going to nearly 1:30 a.m.), and then Shanda slept in FOREVER on Sunday. Even she was shocked at how late she woke up. Which if you know Shanda is saying something. I woke up at some ungodly hour like 7, which meant I got all of three hours of sleep. My friend Joe, and I texted (which I now know was not a good thing-yet again another post) and he kept telling me to wake her up. The wind was so bad that everytime the tree would rustle she'd say from the guest room, "....what are you doing?" I would say, "It's the wind not me." Then she'd crash again. Only the storm through my (probably 400 years old) oak tree got her to stir. Anyway, I couldn't wait any longer and took her car to go shopping. (I had left my car and taken hers the night before {because it had gas} and driven her home since I had had no alcohol and she had been drinking with friends at Bogey's.) I found out that though I had lost about 48 pounds at that point that my breasts have not caught up. THEY ARE WAY TOO BIG. I wanted to buy one of those cute little sexy tops that are currently in vogue and just put a sweater over it for the cold evening>BUT NO....couldn't do that. Because while those cute tops actually fit everywhere (shockingly) my breasts overflowed and I felt more slutty then innocently sexy like you're supposed to. [It's the empire waist and the camisole waist types generally. If I pull the line under my breasts then I feel exposed & if I yank the top up to cover them the sewn-in waist lines cut right through my breasts and look stupid. Sigh.] However, I did get a new pair of jeans (12 petites for those keeping up with my weight loss) and two long-sleeved medium tops instead. It still is weird to go to regular sizes and take them to a dressing room and have them fit. I hold them up and think, "No way is this going to work" and am still pleasantly surprised that not only do they fit but usually (breasts being the one exception as stated previously) look rather attractive too.

3. As I'm leaving the store I get dueling texts from Joe and Shanda about food. We decided to go eat at Chili's. Joe was a riot and Liz and Shanda were having fun laughing at me because I kept hitting my head on the seat behind me when "guffawing uproariously" at what Joe was saying. LUCKILY, for the first time ever (that I know of anyway) Joe let a secret out of the bag. He inadvertantly let slip that there was going to be a limo later that night. My sisters (with my mother's generous support) decided to hire a limo to take the entire crew that was invited to go dancing for my birthday in Sacramento (45 minutes away from home.) Liz kicked Joe under the table and if he hadn't have made a loud ouch noise I would never have noticed because Shanda and I were talking about something completely different and I was only slightly hearing what Joe and Liz were discussing. When I got to my car I squealed because I have never ridden in a limo for more than a five minute drive. So here I was looking forward to TWO virgin experiences: limo ride all night long and clubbing. Because while I love dancing I've only ever gone to one place with friends to do it. Never more than one. While trying to find a Payless Shoe Source (because they always have wides) open I giggled like a little girl for the next two hours. Joe was afraid my sisters would hate him for giving up the surprise but I said we'd blame it on my friend Tony, who couldn't come. I also told Joe that my family loves smart asses so to be on his worst behavior... ;-) My family is a bunch of smart asses which is why Joe was very much appreciated for his behavior that evening.

4. Liz, Joe, Shanda and I sat talking once everyone was cleaned up and ready to go. Then two other friends made it. Jeanine first and then Shawn, very dapper in a suit, with an Earth, Wind and Fire (one of my favorite groups of all times!) cd as a gift. We waited for my sisters who were turtling at the time. I'd looked up places on the internet. I'd been to two but Shanda could only go to one of the places and chose the one farthest north so she could get back home (she had to work at 6 the next morning and lives about two hours away from the club she chose) Well, we never made it. But that didn't matter. The limo was AWESOME!!!!! Thank you again Mom, Jennie and Carin. Those of us inside were having a ball. Joe would talk to Ray, our limo driver, who thought he was lost. Then would talk to Shanda, who had to go in her own car. Turns out the first place (which no one had ever been to) had closed. Shanda finally decided to head toward home and wished us well via cell phone. We were singing, drinking, laughing, joking in the limo so much that it didn't matter that we went up and down the same strip of road a ton of times. Finally, we told Ray that most of us had to use a restroom. He found a place that was open. It turned out to be a Caribbean restaurant/bar WITH A DANCE FLOOR! There were four guys doing Spanish hip hop/rapping to canned salsa/hip hop style music. IT WAS A BLAST! I got to dance. My sisters danced with me. Joe who doesn't dance at all even made it onto the floor to as he put it, "get his groove on with the Nelson sisters." At about fifteen seconds to midnight they dragged me off the floor and we all downed a drink after they sang Happy Birthday to me at midnight. (Joe and I don't drink. Shawn never does anything harder than beer and I never have had a chance to drink with Liz or Jeanine so it was interesting to say the least. Also, Liz doesn't go clubbing but they were all willing to do things they normally wouldn't just for me which was one of the things I treasured most about the evening.) Then after a spin on the floor with my wonderful Shawn we decided to head to the clubs we've actually been to.

5. Ray took a picture of us all by the limo with Jen's camera and we all piled back in for the ride from Citrus Heights to Sac. Well we got lost again but it didn't matter. We ended up at a Denny's (so I still haven't been clubbing officially) where I spent the time talking to my sister Jennie and some very pierced people not to mention doing the splits and eating an English muffin (NO DIET UNTIL BIRTHDAY WAS OVER!) We then all crashed in limo (with exception of Jennie and Shawn who got to bond.) on the way home.

6. Liz and Joe spent the night in my spare bedroom and everyone else made it home safely. Then I woke up at 7 (again about three to four hours of sleep) took in sub plans because my district screwed up their calendar and didn't realize the second was a national holiday this year and came home. Wanted to work out but Curves was closed for the day. Called my parents to invite them for breakfast...they were still asleep. Yikes. Puttered around downstairs and then spent an hour or so talking with Joe and Liz when they woke up before heading off to a Thai foot massage. Had a nice Chinese food lunch and then met my parents at the movies. We saw The Family Stone. I loved it. It made me laugh, cry and think....can't ask for more than that in a movie.

7. Then my parents and I picked up tamales for a big dinner at their house where my brother, & in-laws (who couldn't come the night before for dancing) were plus all my beautiful nieces and nephews. We had a great meal. Then I played with the two year-olds while the older kids kept going into the back room. A place I was NOT ALLOWED. So I knew they were planning something. I thought it was a play which is what they love to do (yeah, the apple doesn't fall too far from that tree) whenever we get together. I was wrong. Instead they were finishing up touches on a book they all made me. I had to sit on the couch then all ten came out and lined up. Ages 11 to 2. They were all holding papers. Ben, who is 2, gave his up and ran off. Then Carina (9) started with the intro. which was along the lines of The Forty Reasons Our Tia is Special to Us. I started crying immediately. No one would give me a tissue. (And yeah, I ended up balling the whole time, tissue-less.) When Lelan, also 2, saw what was happening, he threw down his papers and came running over to the couch I was sitting on and launched himself at me. I picked him up and he started hugging me and patting my back to console me. Then my four four year-old nieces saw this and got concerned expressions on their faces. I kept reassuring them that I was ok. That they were happy tears. They finally believed me and calmed down. Robbie (11), Dalin and Nick (both 6) and Carina just kept on reading-troopers that they are. I'm starting to cry again just thinking about it. Everything they said was something special. They each drew a picture to go along with what they thought was wonderful about me. Which is why even the two year olds could "read" their papers. My mother told me later that it was Carina's idea. That she wanted them all to give me something that I would love. In that she more than succeeded.

So this birthday that I had been joyously anticipating EXCEEDED all expectations!!!!!!!!! With certain notable exceptions, especially Christyn and Frith, I was able to spend time with all of the people I truly care about most in this world. More importantly I found out that I was just as important to them. Because even when you know that you're special you still need to hear it.

My dad has always asked a question of us every year on our birthdays. We know it's coming but never when because he springs it on us at the most unlikely times during the day. The question is, "How does it feel to be a year older?" (This year I also got how does it feel to be a decade older.) Now I always have an answer but this year it was even more important to have the "right" answer. Right being in my mind only. My dad never judges our answers. He just listens and smiles. Then usually hugs and kisses us. Now I always take my dad's question to heart because I truly want to express to him how I feel. This year was easy.

How does it feel? It feels like I have lived an adventure in this first forty years of my life. I know that there are many more to come and I relish that feeling. I embrace it and look forward to all the adventures yet to come. AND I know that if I get lost along the way as long as my companions are as dear to me as those in the limo, or those writing me a book, etc. then I'm never truly lost but just enjoying the ride!

Happy New Year to you all!
Happy Birthday when ever that may be~
and may you find a few adventures of your own.