Sick days

My friend Gina asked me if it was a bummer to have a birthday in January. She has a little one who's birthday falls in this so-sick-of-the-mess-of-toys-we-have-piled-in-our-house-from-the-holidays time after Christmas known as January. No, I have never thought it was a bummer in any way. In fact, I started to brainstorm while I was sitting with her, giving her a much more in-depth answer than she possibly could have wanted. January is the perfect time for a birthday. It's there to buoy you up in that whirlwind of depression and bust that seems to follow you after Christmas. And in most places (well, in all the places I have lived) it is cold, dark and snowy in January. It's a month that needs a little more excitement that what Martin Luther King Jr. Day has to offer (because what decorations do you put up for that?). So it is a perfect time for a celebration that is entirely focused on me. I am not being selfish; that is just the nature of birthdays--it's all about me.

I am ready for my birthday. Some years I try not to mention it before my actual birthday, to see if people remember (I know, a little drama-queenish, but that how I ride), but this year I brought it to every one's attention early. Did you know it's my birthday this week? Yep, I am just spreading the word.

This is because not only have I had to deal with the post-Christmas deflation, the dark and negative-temperatured January, I have also been dealing with sick kids, for two straight weeks. I have been stuck home with kids who don't even have the courtesy to get sick at the same time. They had to overlap by a day, thus keeping us all home a little longer! So Claire stayed home from school, I stayed home from the gym (my social outings of the week), and Morgan stayed home from her job as the Michelin Man double, and I didn't hang out with anyone except my two sicko kids (I know I don't sound compassionate, but you may remember, my birthday is coming up and I reserve the right to be selfish, starting now). And all of this seclusion from my normally scheduled activities left me in a bit of a zombie state. The first time I stumbled across a friend after my long exile, all I could manage to say was, 'awwwwaahhhh'. (that is zombie talk if that isn't obvious enough for everyone).

And. . . I know you are a little bored to find out what more I could possibly say about me and my birthday. . . (I will spare you the list of famous people who share my birthday). . . Just know there is always more that can be said-- about me, by me. This particular birthday is my Golden Birthday!! What does that mean? Nothing. It just means I am turning 28 on the 28th. So I am just going to use it as an excuse to celebrate hard and shake off the January bust, cold, sick, cloudy days. And what does celebrate hard mean? . . . Yeah, I honestly don't know. I have been brainstorming with my friends and the most exciting thing us Mormon married s can think of is to go karaoking. That's really hard core. My vote is to play board games. Shield your eyes if this is too intense for ya'll. Any suggestions would be welcome. . .