Today is my birthday. I won't say how many I've had, though if you know me, you certainly have a good idea. I'll say I've had enough to know what it takes to have a happy birthday.
Here are my 4 things that make a great birthday:
1. Good friends - a dinner with a spouse/significant other is great but a party with friends is even better. I was lucky enough to have a big bunch of mine available this year and it turned into an awesome time!
2. Do Nothing Time - anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours (or for some people, a few days!) in which nothing needs to get done. No laundry or dishwashing or grocery shopping or writing or teaching or anything. And don't assume this do-nothing time requires you to think Deep Thoughts, like What Am I Doing With My Life Now That I'm XX Years Old. No, my do-nothing time was spent on an indoor picnic while watching Shaun of the Dead, one of my very favorite movies.
3. At least One Favorite Food - I love fruit like you wouldn't believe so for me, my fave food (and picnic lunch) included a variety of delicious fresh fruits: watermelon and grapes and raspberries and strawberries. I ate them until I was stuffed! Can you ever have too much of your favorite nosh? Maybe but not on your birthday.
4. The Perfect Cup of Coffee - Yup. Ya gotta include a good cuppa joe on your birthday, whether you begin or end your day with it. I had 2 terrific cups today (so far!): one brought to me by HH - in bed! Whoo-hoo! The second one was a tall Americano from Starbucks up the street. Maybe I will even have a third one later this afternoon. Trifecta!
As you can see, I don't need gifts or fancy dinners or people telling me how great I am, in order to celebrate my birthday. I mean, those things are nice and if they're on your list, that's awesome, but I think as I get older, I just want a few simple things that I can count on.
