Happy Birthweek!

Is a single day sufficient to celebrate something as significant as one's birth? It's quite an accomplishment getting oneself born after all; perhaps it warrants more than just one 24-hour day each year. In April, Shulamith's birthday fell during a very busy week, so we tried to celebrate a bit each day. After about four days of Gerald asking, “What are you doing today?” and us responding “celebrating Shulamith's birthday,” he declared: “Again?! How many days do you two plan to celebrate her birthday?” At that point we decided that a “birthweek” makes much more sense.

Fast forward six months to my “birthweek,” and here we are right in the midst of the partying. On my birthday eve, Isaiah came over, and the two of us went to dinner. He was exhausted from the craziness at his work, and throughout dinner his phone never stopped ringing with co-workers needing his help; still, it was lovely to be with him. It's the busiest season at Lanyon, and he's been traveling almost all the time.

The day of my actual birthday, we went to Leatherby's, where I ate a hot fudge raspberry brownie sundae. Yep, it's every bit as incredible as you are imagining, so go ahead and be jealous. While we were there, Eli called to wish me happy birthday. As always, it was delightful to talk to him.

Throughout the day, various people stopped by delivering cards and even some goodies. Thanks especially to Amy for the yummy Rice Krispies treats and to Katie for a cool new cup for my Diet Coke! As I gathered all the cards on the kitchen counter that night, Seth made an insightful observation: “Wow, on my birthday, I get one card from Grandma and one from Grandma Vi. That's it. You should feel blessed to have so many friends.” I often complain about my inability to figure out a social life here in Utah, but Seth is right; I am blessed to have friends who were so kind to me on my birthday.

That evening, I texted back and forth with a friend from Mt. Vernon. We have an unusual relationship. We are good friends, yet we connect only once a year, always on my birthday, October 20th. We have done this every year since I left Mt. Vernon in 2004. She texts me "Happy Birthday," and we text back and forth for about two hours. We send pictures and catch up on all the details of each other's life: our kids, our jobs (she is also a college writing instructor), our travels, our everything. Then we say how we should really do this more than once a year. And then we never do. Still, it was so good to "talk" to her.

The next day I had to teach, but I came home to freshly baked cream cheese pie, courtesy of Shulamith. The following evening we celebrated with a few women from our ward, a girls' night out eating yummy Thai cuisine. Friday we used a gift card I received from my mom and took Seth out to Longhorn Steak House.

But all that was only warm-up. Saturday was the real deal. Saturday, Shulamith and I left everyone at home, including children, and went to see the movie The Martian and then to dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Movie was great, and food was so yum. Truly, a glorious afternoon!

Today will be our family dinner and celebration at home, a perfect way to end the week.
It has involved a great deal of food, way more than I normally eat, and I'll have to return with added diligence to my diet plan tomorrow. But it's worth it. Birthdays are kind of important, I've decided.