Yet Another Birthday

Birthdays are usually a kind of non-event for me these days.  I don't usually like to give much more than a cursory nod of acknowledgement to the day on which I become a Whole Year Older.  Granted, I've spend a whole year becoming this Whole Year Older, but it's just hearing that number that gets to me.  As the mother of a 5 year old, sometimes I think my birthday should actually be harder on my parents.  I mean, sheesh, they're the parents of a (gasp!) 43 year old.  How must that make them feel?  Older?  Sad?  Wondering how their baby got so old so quickly?  I think I mentioned before how I struggled with Sammi turning 5.  It's such a BIG number in my mind.  Okay, well, struggled isn't exactly the word I should use there, more like had to acknowledge that my baby is not a baby anymore.  I'm thrilled that she's 5!  I'm not, however, thrilled that I'm 43. 

But this year my birthday was actually a really fun day!  It fell on a Sunday, making it the perfect day to actually do stuff.  The morning started out with a family trip to IHOP, Sammi's favorite "estauwant" (oh, how she struggles with those "r" words...).  Gramma (did I get that spelling right, Mom?) and Grampa came over in the afternoon to play with Samantha while Steve and I went to see Harry Potter in 3D.  I have never seen a 3D movie, and thought I might find the glasses annoying and the images overwhelming, kind of what it's like when you put on someone's prescription lenses and try to walk around (channelling my inner 5-year old here), but I was pleasantly surprised!  Even the non-action sequences were so much more well-rounded, full of a depth I couldn't have imagined possible.  Everything on the screen suddenly became so much more interesting.  And the dementors, well, those bad boys were just made for 3D.  Let me say, however, that any movie, no matter what it is, is only as good as the jerks you've got sitting directly behind you in the theater.  And boy, did we hit the jackpot.  A family of 5, each with the noisiest, most rattle-y, nerve-shredding packaging for their popcorn/raisinettes/jujubes/whatever, each with the inability to chew with their mouths closed, each with the insatiable appetites of people who waited a week for this just. so. they. could. eat. through. the. entire. movie., each with the overwhelming desire to slurp the bottom of their drink cup when it's obviously this close to being empty, each waiting until the absolute quietest moments of dialogue to stuff their faces and pass the boxes around...  Well, you get the picture.  Omg...  At one point Steve even lowered his glasses down on his nose, turned around, and gave them the death stare.  Which silenced them for exactly...4 minutes.  4 minutes in which we were able to listen to the movie.  Eventually, about an hour and a quarter into the film, they decided they'd eaten enough, and with one final move to squish the popcorn bag into the tiniest ball possible, fell silent. 

That's when someone's cell phone went off.  Really?

Okay, so other than that, the film was great!  When we returned home, we had delicious cupcakes that my mother had made from scratch that morning and sang Happy Birthday to Me (which Samantha was just fine with, given the smaller group and the lower volume with which everyone sang).  Several times throughout the day, Samantha, unsolicited, said, "Happy birthday, Mommy!  Blow out the candles!"  Hehehe, my little cutie...  Speaking of Samantha and her beautiful birthday wishes, I just love how she signed her card to me (below)!!  Steve helped her hand-over-hand with the "S," but she did the rest of the letters of her name all by herself. 

The day was topped off by a fantastic dinner of my choice, Spaghetti Carbonara, cooked by my amazing husband, accompanied by a glass of wine, followed by some lemon merengue pie (not cooked by him, but still delicious!).  After my high-calorie adventures that day, it was early to bed, passed-out cold in seconds. 

Just as a happy birthday should be.