A good time was had

This past Sunday we held my birthday party at a café about 15 minutes from our house. It was the closest date we could get to my actual birthday, and while a Sunday may seem like an odd choice, it was in the middle of a holiday weekend, so it all worked out.

It was a really good night, with lots of talk and catching up, some karaoke, great food, and a lovely cake (photo below). It was honestly among the nicest such events I’ve ever been to.

For me, one of the highlights was that Nigel and all his siblings were there, along with his mum, of course. This doesn’t happen as much now that one of his sisters lives in Australia, so that was as special for them as it was for me.

The party was relatively short—5pm to 10pm—which suited me: I can no longer tolerate late nights like I could decades ago. I was in bed by around midnight.

The next morning, those staying with or near us had breakfast together at our house, then the various siblings left to head home. The sister from Australia flew home on Tuesday, which ended up being a rest day for Nigel’s mum and me. Today I took her home, which means that tomorrow will be my first day alone in the house since before my birthday—when I was painting rooms.

I spent a lot of time standing at my party, and it left my legs sore. And, I was tired from the “late” nights and the socialising, so it’ll take me a few more days to fully recover. Well, it was a “big birthday”…

As I said in my birthday post, my actual birthday was a low-key, relaxing day. The next day, Nigel and I picked up his mother, and that night we had corn on the cob with dinner, and it struck me how appropriate that was: It was still my birthday in my native Illinois, and every year my mother made whatever I wanted for my birthday dinner. Several years my mother froze corn on the cob in season so I could have it on my birthday. Having it on what was my American birthday made me feel really good. As if the “big birthday” itself wasn’t reason enough to feel nostalgic.

So, this year my birthday celebrations lasted about a week, and picked up speed as the week went along. Other people would choose different ways of celebrating, of course, but getting together with friends and family is the way that appeals most to me. My ordinary birthdays are much quieter, which isn’t a surprise or unusual, and maybe some year I’ll choose a different way of marking a “big birthday”. This year’s celebration, in it’s entirety, was pretty much perfect.

Our friend made the birthday cake. She also supplied the cake for my 50th and our marriage parties.