It’s My Birthday! A Self-Indulgent Post

Today is my birthday. I am now 37 years old. That’s practically 40! And you know what? I’m totally okay with that.

Now that I’m older, and wiser, I can say that my life gets better every day.  Maybe we all think that every day (and yay if you do!!) but I mean it today.  My kids are happy and healthy, we have a family trip planned, I don’t have to deal with babies anymore, I’m happy at my job (where I’ve been for 15 years!) and life is good.

Of course there are some things that aren’t that great, but let’s be positive today.  It’s my birthday after all!  It’s nice to look back (I know, I’m not even 40.  Isn’t that a bit young for reminiscing?  I say No!  You can always reflect back on how far you’ve come!) and see all the life stages you’ve been through.  It’s amazing how everything every-single-thing you did before got you where you are right now.

I think it’s so interesting that I feel more confident today than I ever did as a teenager or university student.  And what’s the most interesting is that I’m the exact same person now as I was then.  I’ve just made the choice to be me, and not be who I think others want me to be.

Sure, friends come and go, but I love what I have always loved.  My 90s Canadian rock, my Ewan McGregor fan-life, my love of reading (and now writing), my desire to learn and to visit museums, cultural sites and anywhere else interesting, my coffee drinking dates with friends (which I don’t do enough!), and my enjoyment of solitary walks with a camera and some tunes.  Those things have always been me.  Now I do them without thinking about who’s going to see me do it, or what others think much at all.  If I find some folks who like some/any/or all of these things, I want them to be my friend.  I want to share these passions with like-minded folks, but I’ve discovered over the years that it’s hard to find those friends.

So instead of finding friends I had children.  (Just kidding!  Or am I…)  I’m doing my darndest to mould them into people I would like to spend my free time with.  I’d say I’m doing an okay job so far.  But my daughters are definitely their own people.  And that’s darn amazing as well.  I am endlessly fascinated with the science behind having children and watching them grow, change, learn and become functioning members of society.

I’m a bit of an introvert.  I’ve never really made a big deal out of my birthday.  I always see my family, have some good food and lovely visits.  When I was younger (in highschool and university) my birthdays were never really a big deal.  I’d have some friends over (maybe 2) and we’d watch a movie or go out.  

I was never big into the bar scene but I definitely did that a few years at Uni.  Did you know there’s a bar here that (used to, at least) let you in for free if it was your birthday?  Since I hate spending money, that was a good push to get me to go to the bar!  Then after you make sure to inform your “friends” who were already at the bar that it’s your birthday, sometimes people will buy you a drink.  That was fun too because I didn’t like buying drinks when I could drink for less at home.  I know, I was (and still am) a total buzzkill.

Anyway, that’s all off track from what I wanted to talk about in this birthday post of mine.  Now birthdays are just as low key as they’ve ever been.  My family and I subscribe to the “it’s just a day” philosophy.  That means that if we can’t get together on an actual birthday (or holiday) then we celebrate it when we can all get together.

This philosophy has been working very well for us for years.  But it’s nice to be acknowledged on your actual day of birth.  I do get birthday Facebook messages, but let’s be honest – do many of those people even think about the fact you even have a birthday before Facebook tells them?  No.  And I’m as guilty as anyone – I wish lots of people Facebook happy birthdays knowing full well I had no idea their birthday was coming up.

Enough dwelling. It’s my birthday so let’s take a look forward for a minute.  

Here are a few things I’d love to get moving forward for myself this year:

• First is my blog goals.  You can read about them here.  They are some of the less fun goals I’ve set for myself.  Something I am always working towards with my blog, which I may have touched on in that post, is making some money from blogging.  If I could get paid to ramble on about my life I would LOVE that!  I did make a small sum of money through my social media channels last year, but $250 doesn’t go far.  This isn’t something I’m super actively working toward, but it sure would be nice!
• Second is trying to stay on the slightly-more-healthy bandwagon.  Since the new year I’ve been eating a bit better and I’m still “working out” although winter kicks my butt a lot.  I don’t go for my walks nearly as regularly in the cold weather.  So I’ve got to get back to that.  But I am still dancing!  In fact I plan to write another post about: Ballet Class – One Year In or something like that.  I’m still struggling like crazy to learn the stuff, but my struggles are changing.  So I want to write about it!
• Third is getting this photography stuff figured out.  I took a course and learned some technique – and it’s helped me already, but I need to just go out and take more pictures.  I’ve decided to set aside one Wednesday a month where I go somewhere with the camera and just snap away.  Fiddle around, try different perspectives, weird angles, and just get more comfortable with the camera and the settings.  I am looking for company for these days if anyone out there wants to tag along!  It’ll also double as “being active” because I’ll likely head to conservation areas or waterfront parks where I’ll do a lot of walking.  

If you’re still reading this post, thanks for indulging me!  I try to write about what other people (hopefully) want to read, but today I’m selfish.  My birthday means I’m sharing what I want to say, whether or not I think others want to read it.  So thanks for hanging in there!

Do you have any birthday traditions, or things you like (or don’t like) about the way your birthdays manifest themselves?  I’d love to talk about cute things your kids do for you on your birthday, or anything else birthday related.  Leave me a comment and we’ll start a conversation!  At my workplace we always have a cake for birthdays.  Makes the day a little more special.  And we all get to eat cake, so that’s great too!

Here’s to another great year! 

~Jess