Monday, August 3, 2009

Birthdays Past and Future

I had a birthday this weekend. It made me think of my past birthdays. Of course I don't remember all of them, but some I do remember. A few I can't figure out why I remember them because they weren't really that monumental but I guess they just made an impression on me. Come take a walk down memory lane with me.....

In 1975 I turned ten years old. I got three albums that year! I no longer had to use my siblings albums when they weren't looking because now I had my own. I remember I got Toys In The Attic by Aerosmith, Welcome To My Nightmare by Alice Cooper, and Venus and Mars by Wings. I was ten years old people! What were my parents thinking????? Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, ten years old!!!! Maybe that is why that birthday sticks out in my mind because even then I knew I wasn't supposed to be listening to that stuff....

In 1981 I turned sixteen. I was still basking in the glow of watching Diana Spencer marry her real live Prince and become a princess a few days earlier. All was right in the world - fairy tales do come true and I was getting my drivers license!

When I turned twenty I was planning my wedding that was going to take place one month later. I don't remember how I spent that birthday except that I'm sure I did something wedding related.

My thirtieth birthday was spent lying in a hospital bed crying my eyes out all day long. I suppose it had a little to do with turning thirty and a lot to do with the fact I had had my third child the day before and I was very hormonally imbalanced.

My fortieth birthday celebration lasted a couple of days and involved beautiful beaches, dolphins and spending a couple of nights in George Bush's bed. Just writing that makes me laugh because it sounds so decadent. For the record, nobody even remotely related to the Bush family was in the bed while I was in it. So National Enquirer reporters stay away.

Sometime after my fortieth birthday I realized that I had probably celebrated more birthdays than I will celebrate in the future. Not exactly a happy thought, but it put things in perspective. Now instead of expecting elaborate gifts or parties, just time spent with friends and family is the perfect way to celebrate the beginning of a new year in my life. That's why my forty-fourth birthday was great. Family, good food, good friends... what more could a girl want?

So here's a little nugget of wisdom for future generations to take away from this:

Whether your birthday is spent in a hospital bed or a presidents bed, if your family and friends are with you it's all good.

I hope Hallmark gives me credit when they use that quote in a birthday card!

2 comments:

Savannah said...

I'm sure Hallmark had a card like that around the Clinton presidency?? hehe This was a funny post! I can't believe you got those records when you were 10!! You probably gave me a Raffy tape when I was 10! haha!

Annie said...

Hahahaha they probably DID have a card that said that during the Clinton years! You crack me up!!