July 07, 2000
Happy Birthday to Me! (Okay, Okay, and Brand Too)
So far I've had "Happy Birthday" sung to me once, I've been fed brownies and Oreos, and I got a nifty card. Not bad at all. And several coworkers told me I didn't look twenty-eight. Also not bad at all. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hung up on the whole age thing, no matter how much I gripe about it. I have been noticing some signs of aging over the last year or so, but it's not that big of a deal. Of course, talk to me in two years, when I turn 30, and I might change my tune.
My mom was my age when she had me. That strikes me as odd. (Of course, my mom might strike me as I've just advertised how old she is, but hey...) I don't know why. I mean, thinking of my mom at 28... I wonder what she was like. She wasn't nearly as flaky as I am, I'm sure. She'd been married and settled for a good 7 or 8 years. Family legend says that after I was born, the doctor looked at my mom and said, "Now do you believe that you were pregnant?"
That's a story in and of itself. My mom and dad got married in 1964, and I wasn't born for another eight years. From what I gather, those eight years were difficult in some ways, with several miscarriages and 'false pregnancies'. At one point my parents considered adopting a cousin, whose mom was single. Several times Mom was told she was pregnant, but she never carried to term. Finally, in winter 1971, she found out she was pregnant again, and laughed at the doctor. She gained maybe three pounds during her pregnancy -- and I weighed four when I was born. We've talked about it some, and she says she thinks she sort of subconsciously denied being pregnant, because she didn't want to get her hopes up again. It feels kinda neat, being the realization of somebody's hopes.
Birthdays were always neat when I was a kid. Aside from being the stereotypical spoiled only child, my cousin Sheri's birthday is the 9th, so we always got to celebrate together, usually on the 8th. If I had a scanner, I'd scan in one of the zillions of pictures I have of one of mine and Sheri's birthday parties. The one that springs to mind right away was when I was 2 and Sheri was 5. The picture is of the two of us sitting at my little toy kitchen table out in the backyard, each with our own little birthday cake. Mine as a big candle in the shape of a 2, and Sheri's is in the shape of a 5. There we sat, grinning at the camera. We may both have our tongues stuck out, I can't remember. Every picture of me and Sheri until I was about seven is of the two of us sticking our tongues out at the camera. Anyway, Sheri is sunbrowned with long brown hair, and I'm pale with long golden curls. Yes, it's true! I had adorable Nellie Olson curls and big blue eyes, until I was about 4. Then I had short brown hair and I kept getting mistaken for a boy.
Anyway, that picture is one of my favorites. I miss my birthdays with my cousin.
This promises to be a very very busy weekend. Tonight I'm going out to dinner with Jo and Eric, tomorrow mom and I are finishing the last of the moving stuff at the old place, and Sunday I'm gaming with the Changeling group, although we're not playing Changeling. Oh yeah. Sometime in there I should probably finish unpacking my apartment.
Posted by Lisa at July 7, 2000 04:27 PM
