special...and old

i made it through another birthday...

i have quite a habit of having rather shitty birthdays:

like birthday '03 where i spent it alone scaring myself shitless watching The Ring because my family forgot!

or birthday '04 where i broke my ankle. my gf at the time ran off to the Lake District (in the UK) on OUR vacation the WE had planned with OTHER people while i stayed on campus...on crutches...by myself.

or birthday '09 where it literally blizzard'd all over my damn birthday...i was stuck inside for days. I made my own steak dinner, baked my own cake and sang happy birthday to myself. it was bleak.

or birthday '10 where my mom came to visit me, found all my LESBIAN paraphernalia, outed me to herself and then proceeded to tell me that i would probably not be allowed to visit their house ever again or be allowed to be see my siblings...super bleak.

or birthday "11 where THE EX decided that it would be more fun to go get wasted with her friends instead of whatever it was that i wanted to do and then volunteered me to work in her mothers garden literally all damn day. just plain stupid. (don't get me wrong...i LOVE spending time in a garden...my garden, when i decide to garden...you know?)

so, this year, i had absolutely no expectations. I planned nothing, told no one; i pretended that i was not turning another year older...that in fact i was not entering another age bracket but was staying put in the "spring chicken" years.  and that no one or no force of nature was going to ruin my day!

First thing this morning i was smartly flipped of by an idiot on a bike...happy fucking birthday. 

HA!

all idiots aside, this birthday actually turned out quite well! 

My bff sent me a lovely wee package with a brand spanking new journal. YAY! 

My family sent me a box full of fun, little trinkets, a few gift cards, a new St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap and loving little notes. They've come along way since the whole "you can't come home" thing...my dad even sent a little limerick (half of which i did not understand) that basically alluded to the fact that i might actually be special. The idea that he still thinks i'm special, even after devastating them all by being gay, brought tears to my eyes. They have no idea what they mean to me!

"the roomie" treated me to a day of fresh mountain air, frosty brews and tickets to see James Taylor at Red Rocks... A-FUCKING-MAZING!

My Denver bestie left me the most hilarious voicemail about halfway through the day. You know the kind...the bestie kind. the laugh so hard tears are flowing kind. We have plans to paint the town red this friday!

Peeps at work sent ridiculous emails with pictures of cats blowing cake in a dogs face and asked the obligatory birthday question: "so, do ya feel older?"

In fact, this year, i do.

My body, in every way possible, is reminding me that indeed i am NOT getting younger...but much much older.

This past Saturday, I helped a friend move. What i thought was going to be a two hour affair turned into a nearly six hour shindig in which i think i used every muscle i never knew i had. I outdid my self trying to keep up with the men in the group...
(the only thing i couldn't do was help move the god-awful china hutch)

...and now my back in yelling obscenities at me. Saturday coupled with my 4 hour hike up Guanella Pass on Sunday has my body screaming from places i had forgotten existed. That didn't used to happen a few years ago.

I also found a whole new batch of grays....a few more crows feet and my affinity for staying out late in waning fast. 

Despite all the aches and pains (anyone have any ICEYHOT, by the way?) i feel quite contented with my life. I have wonderful friends. a family who is starting to come around. I beautiful puppy. A good job and a vacation coming up. 

any good shitty birthday stories out there?