The changing face of birthday dreams

The all-important birthday cake

This past weekend, I turned 37.  There is nothing particularly note-worthy or spectacular about a 37th birthday in and of itself, of course... other than the fact that I must now officially acknowledge that I have ceased to be part of the nebulous "mid-thirties" gang, and have solidly placed my foot in the "creeping-their-way-to-a-midlife-crisis" crew.  Ha! (Just kidding). ( Sort of).  

This year, however, I was struck by what having a birthday means, and how that changes over time.  I think for many people, the 30s are a funny marker in that respect - it's as though there is less focus on the party and celebration, and more on the fact that you are, in fact, one year OLDER. This leads some people I know to wish for a birthday that just kind of.... silently slips by.  Maybe with a couple of presents thrown into the mix.

When you add kids into the equation, however, this changes the dynamic even further. Birthdays become exciting in a very different way.  In this household, you can't imagine the amount of planning and whispered conferences behind closed doors, and secret outings (to get secret presents), and secret prep work that went in to the weekend.  For instance, Clark documented one of the most important aspects (ie, the making of the cake):

Juniper, inexplicably, decides it is important to "take notes" while prepping

Carefully placing smarties.  It began with a "T", which was quickly obscured by the need for full coverage

The finished product, in all it's glory

... and look how proud and excited they were to present their delicious work of art!

 When all was said and done, I realised that, though I might not have been able to voice what I would have wanted for a 37th birthday, I was given precisely the perfect mix of aspects for this particular time and space in my life:

1. A weekend mostly devoid of my usual duties and concerns. I didn't worry about what we were going to eat, or even cook a meal.  I was not responsible for how were were going to spend our day. I wasn't the one who had to reprimand kids or deal with bad attitudes.  I didn't even PICK UP the camera.  It's not as though I begrudge any of these things on a day-to-day basis - I love that I'm able to cook beautiful, healthy food, and that I have the time and space to spend my days dreaming up fun activities with the kids.  And I reap the benefits of being the official family photographer on a daily basis. But it was was also a huge treat to just... not be constantly responsible and vigilant in that regard.

2. Hang-out time.  I got to spend the whole day yesterday with our very oldest friends - Zsofi, Will, and their girls.  The kids got to play, the dads hung out (and dealt with all things kids-related), and Zsofi and I were totally indulgent.  We chatted, chatted, chatted, went on a gorgeous winter walk, and I even got my cards read! All very soul-enriching stuff.

Zsofi wisely snapped this pic towards the end of our walk, as the snow lazily floated down

Perhaps in the future, I will crave wild parties or exotic trips or big presents to celebrate my birthday (likely not,  of course, but who knows what will come as my identity and life circumstances shift?) Honestly, however, I wouldn't have wanted anything different than this quiet, low-key weekend that I was gifted this time around.

Now I believe I will take these brand-new birthday bluetooth headphones that just arrived, and go on a post-birthday-morning walk in the sun and fresh dusting of snow.  What could be nicer?

I will leave you with a little picture of Linden, being Linden.  See you next week!

Oh, Linden.