My birthday plan for this year was to spend quality time with a few girlfriends by hanging out at a spa during the day and ending the day at a lovely restaurant. I didn’t even get a chance to figure out which restaurant before the arrival of the Coronavirus which has kept almost everyone in the world indoors.
I have to admit that the way I celebrated my 44th birthday is by far the best way I have ever celebrated myself. The 40th birthday party I had ain’t got nothing on this one. For the most part, I am not big on celebrating birthdays. There are people that indulge in celebrating theirs right from the beginning of their birth month and all the way to the end of that month. For me, sometimes I forget what day it is until someone wishes me a happy birthday. Apart from my family, there are those special ones that have never forgotten to place that birthday call to me no matter which continent they are located on April 10 of that year.
During one of my single days, I remember arriving at work and wondering why every time I wrote 4/10 on a form the date seemed to jump at me like I was supposed to remember something about it. I kept telling myself, “this date looks familiar” but I couldn’t put my fingers on it. These were the days of pagers and working a 7am to 3pm schedule as a security guard in a tiny little booth which translates to ‘no phone’ access till after 3pm. It was not until 1pm that day that I realized it was my birthday.
This year is a lot different because I started making noise about my birthday a week prior to the actual date. I even surprised myself. Every day of that week, I woke up happy and danced with a grateful heart in anticipation. This social distancing and 100% telework is really working in my favor. My brain is so relaxed y’all. Where did that migraine I constantly used to have go? Please stay gone! I am actually happy staying the heck in my house. I did not know working at home coupled with good health, which is all by His grace could be this pleasant.
For my birthday this year, I told my husband that I do not want any cake or gift. The fact that I am breathing and spending time with him and the children stuck together in the house is gift enough. I woke up on the morning of April 10 and gave thanks to God Almighty for keeping me alive. Put on my make-up and wore this beautiful lace dress to work in my home office. After completing my 8 work hours in the dress, I stepped outside to take a picture which I would eventually frame and hang on a wall in the house in remembrance of this special birthday.
