Birthdays

The idea of my birthday has been a pretty sore subject for many years.

Even though my ex wasn't exactly a stellar husband, he was really good about making me feel important on my birthday.  By comparison, my sweet Surfer Pirate is an excellent husband all the time, but not so great at gift-giving occasions.

But more on that later.

The string of crummy birthdays started in 2008.  I had been divorced for a few months.  I was dating one local guy, and involved with several different men online.  Three of those guys actually asked if they could come to Montana and take me out for my birthday, but Mr Local had already secured the date a month in advance.  Which made me feel really special because he was dating several other girls.  I continued to feel special until the night of my birthday...  when he showed up more than two hours late.  He took me to a buffet restaurant, where he spent the meal staring at the cute, size-2 waitress.  I debated leaving and walking home.  After dinner, he drove me straight home, dropped me off in the street and left.  Classy.

*For the record, the next week was MUCH better.  The next day, I traded in my evil Dodge Stratus for my pickup truck, and met Surfer Pirate just a few days later.

2009 - I had a miscarriage two weeks earlier.  I was very worried about my dad's failing health.  And to add to the fun, I was laid off from my job along with 13 other people.  Yes, that's right.  Laid off from a job I loved ON MY BIRTHDAY.  I cried the rest of the day except when we went out to eat (as previously planned) and I stressed about how we would pay for it since I no longer had a job.

2010 - We were dead broke, I was still unemployed, and I have no idea what we did because it was all so depressing.

2011 - We had a 2 month old baby.  My dad had died the day before, and Surfer Pirate was dealing with some major personal issues.  We went out to eat, and then the next day (maybe 2 days later?) the kids and I were on a plane to Seattle to be there to support my mom and attend the funeral.

Last year, we were so broke that we could only afford one thing.  A nice dinner, a nice cake, or a gift.  I chose a DQ ice cream cake because... well, who wouldn't??

So this year, I was STUNNED when I realized that we had enough money that I could actually have a REAL birthday!  Woo hoo!!

In comes Surfer Pirate.  Like I said.  Gifts?  Not exactly his thing.  He always worries about buying the wrong thing.  He tries to insist that I just buy what I really want, but I refuse.  I like for him to pick something out for me.  I try to give him as many good ideas as I can so he knows he's getting something I like.  But this year, I only wanted one thing.

This ankle bracelet:

I love it.  Delicate and pretty with little tiny angel wings on it.  It makes me think of my sister - my personal guardian angel.  I made sure Surfer Pirate knew that this was all I wanted and that he had all the information he needed to so he could buy it.

He didn't get his paycheck until the day before my birthday, so I knew I wouldn't get my ankle bracelet in time for my birthday, but at least it would be on its way.

The day came, and I reminded him again that he needed to order my present.  He made the final attempt to get me to just do the shopping for myself.  I gave in.  He was right.  I ordered it.  It is supposed to arrive the end of next week.

I thought a lot about what I wanted to do with my birthday.  Pirate Munchkin was pushing HARD for supper at DQ (can you tell our DQ closes during the winter and it's a big deal that they open in mid to late February??)  I really didn't want greasy fast food for my birthday.  But what did I want?  And then it hit me - t-bones.  I wanted a juicy, flavorful t-bone for my birthday.  Which meant I had to cook it myself.  I've gotten REALLY good at cooking steak and I no longer trust anyone else to do it.  Plus, I had Yukon Gold potatoes - which make THE BEST mashed potatoes.  And I wanted another ice cream cake.

So that's what we had this year.  Steak with mashed potatoes and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard Ice Cream Cake (doesn't that sound amazing?  It soooo is!)  Plus, I got a surprise package in the mail from another loved one with some fun jewelry in it.  I told Surfer Pirate that I felt spoiled this year, and he said I deserve to be spoiled all the time.

I needed that.


*I should mention that my mom spoils me every year.  She has been the light through all these rough birthdays.  Her latest thing is she gets me Amazon gift cards and I have lots of fun figuring out how I can get the most things off my Amazon Wish List.  This year, she ordered my gift card early, so I had all my gifts here at least a week before my birthday had even arrived!