"Are you excited, its your Birthdaaaaayyyy?!" my daughter asked.
But I wasn't. I was calm, relaxed. No office to rush off to, no children demanding my attention, just me and my cuppa, sitting up in bed watching the terrace breeze dance with my curtains, when my first call came in from my daughter. I thought of the only phone call I would not receive and the only one I wanted more than anything in the world. Every year like clockwork, my Dad would call first thing and pretend he didn't know it was my birthday and then pretend he was surprised about how old I am and how he was too "young" to have such an old daughter. The joke never got old and I imagined hearing his voice on the other line. I miss him.
Lately, all new commercials show families at home, Zoom meetings from the dining room table, tea parties in the pillow forts that the kiddos build- they all bring a tear as well as a sense of relief in that I am not alone being alone. The silver lining of it all is that in this age of convenience, and YouTube, I managed to learn a whole set of new skills. DIY 2020! I can now add Nail Technician, Makeup Artist, and Plumber to my resume! Learning How-To-Breath-In-A-Face-Mask-Without-Heaving and How-To-Stay-Six-Feet-Away-From-People-You-Want-To-Hug come in at a close fourth and fifth place. The day before my birthday, the mere thought of having to spend it in isolation had me running to the local Walgreens just for the company. I made up a reason in my mind to aimlessly peruse the aisles in search of, well...a friendly face and maybe even a nod in agreement to the insanity that there is not a roll of Bounty paper towels in sight. LOL Yes, I was desperate and you can never underestimate the power of finding Cocoa Puffs on sale. Right there, in the cereal aisle, I decide to plan a self portrait series. A day to give myself what I offer my clients; a day of pampering and self care with a soothing facial, then hair and makeup. A day all for me! I fill my crickety-crooked shopping cart with all my usual pre-shoot goodies and Cocoa Puffs, of course. My mood suddenly shifted. It's been years since the last one and doing it on my birthday seemed ideal. The miracles of shopping prevail and soon I am rushing to the checkout, excited and planning out the details. After all, I already had my fancy-schmancy dress, ordered months ago in anticipation of the big 4-6! White, sequin, mini, and oh so GLAM, this beaut definitely looked like a o party and I couldn't wait to wear it on a night out. I was determined to make use of it, even if only for the all the FACETIME birthday calls. The next day, I woke up in a calm state and to my girls call. It was MY day.
Too much Netflix-binging has me hungry for silence. No music, no TV, just work and my own voice having a meeting with my Sony, "Alright, we are going to go with the face-finder at 2.8, with remote flash <clap> LET'S DO THIS!" 😆 Almost three hours (yup, just about right) I was donzo! Now its time to dance and order in. Music is on, scallops from my favorite local Chef- a major treat, and a glass of red made me bold enough to post my silliness. I giggled. I worked and played and got to eat cake! GO Meee!
