I’ve always disliked my birthday due to how cold it is outside and this year was no exception. There’s so much pressure to do something special to celebrate but the options are scarce because I can’t do what I would like the most – spend time in nature – and I also don’t want to gather somewhere indoors and risk catching something. I’ve gone five years without catching COVID, or any illness, in fact, and I’d like to keep it that way. What I went through in 2019 will forever be imprinted in my mind, and I suspect it was triggered by a virus, so I’d rather avoid all the viruses as much as possible and not risk becoming chronically ill.
Needless to say, we didn’t do anything special this year other than grab some birthday freebies from various fast food places. I’ve noticed over the years that most places have gotten stingier. Beef Shack gives you a $5 off coupon as if they don’t send those out regularly. Starbucks is still giving a free drink of any type and size, but only on your actual birthday. I keep bamboozling myself by trying one of their coffee drinks and hating it every time, including the pistachio latte I tried this year. The only thing I truly like on their menu are the shaken green tea lemonades but I’m usually not in the mood for one when it’s freezing cold outside.
I told Joe I’d rather he just go into work next year since it was a wasted day off. Either that, or I want to be on vacation somewhere warm since I will be turning 50 and should probably celebrate that depressing milestone. It doesn’t even need to be exotic so long as it’s above 60 degrees. Maybe we’ll finally make it out to Arizona to close his parents’ safety deposit box.
In any case, much like Christmas, I felt depressed on my birthday and was happy when it was over.
Stupid parents for getting pregnant in March…