December 21, 2013

• Birthday Bashed

  

  Every year I throw myself a birthday party. You may wonder why I'd do such a thing, but ever since the year everyone --even my parents-- forgot it was my birthday I've arranged for my own celebrations. It isn't like anyone else is going to throw a party for me, as much as I'd love for someone else to plan an event.

  This year I was thinking of having a dinner party, it seemed like a grown up thing to do... but there was a teeny tiny problem. Okay, there were actually a lot of big problems. Namely that I had no where to host such an event because I don't have my own place and I really can't cook very well. Plus, a friend of mine said that having an at-home event would not be enough to celebrate this major milestone of my life.

  So the new plan was for all of us to go to a restaurant that opened in the summer none of us had been to and go to a movie afterwards. Not exactly a huge hoopla, but still something fun. The food was really good, but due to the delay in ordering (we were waiting for people who failed to arrive) and us just talking so much we missed the start time for the alternate movie we were going to see (the one we planned on wasn't playing here after all).

  I was okay with it because the Bs had told me in advance they weren't going to the cinema, and C let me know when she arrived that her work shift was changed so she couldn't come either. Since the Bs were going to stop for coffee on their way home to catch up (they hadn't seen each other in a while), A and I decided to join them instead of going to the movie late.

  

  Both C and one of the Bs gave me a prezzie. C got me a pretty bracelet and an absolutely stunning journal --which she said was for me to write about my travels in Ireland. B gave me a scarf made of wool from Scotland, a material scarf she made, and a bunch of hand-me down clothes. I LOVE getting clothes from my friend's closets, so to me that's a fab gift. Mbff teased about what he'd give me, and I was hoping to get it on my actual birthday...

  I had a fairly fun night, and it was a good thing too. My actual birthday really, really sucked. As in it was almost as horrible as the time everyone forgot my birthday. No one forgot this year, we have FB now to remind us *rolls eyes*, but my parents may as well have. They both took the day off, but it turns out it wasn't to spend the day with me. No, it was so they could go Christmas shopping.

  For my birthday I ended up cleaning my room. Yeah, seriously, the girl who hates cleaning did it on her birthday for something to do. That done, I was just in the process of making arrangements to go to Mbff's to watch a movie when my parents came home. Being told we would leaving soon, I postponed going to Mbff's until after dinner, cake, and prezzies... but I could have went because it took two hours before my parents decided they were hungry.

  On our way to the restaurant I was informed dad couldn't afford both the dinner out and an ice cream cake as promised. I shouldn't be so selfishly disappointed, considering I was getting more than people in poorer countries do, but my birthday wasn't going well and being told my dad didn't even bother budgeting in the only two things he actually buys for my birthday kind of hurt.

  Then, to make matters worse, we did not go home after dinner to open my presents. No, I was dragged out Christmas shopping and ended up following around my parents for nearly two hours. Needless to say I was incredibly upset because I absolutely love birthdays, and mine didn't even matter to the people who are the reason for my existence. I have told them for years that I hate that Christmas causes my birthday to be overlooked and to please not do anything Christmasy on my birthday... I now realize I'd rather celebrate Christmas on my birthday than being dragged on errands like I was tonight because then at least we would be celebrating someone's birthday!

  This unexpected shopping trip also meant my plans with the mbff were in peril as he had to work that night and only had so much time. I got really ticked off, and ended up having a fight with my mother who said if I wanted to do something special for my birthday I should have made other plans. Um, hello? Whenever I made other plans on my birthday she would freak out and say it was their day to celebrate with me! Not that they really did, but it was usually at least good for three or so hours rather than under one hour. And I had made plans... but they kept interfering with them!

  After finally getting home I walked over to the mbff's and we just hung out because he didn't have enough time to watch a movie before work. I felt a bit like a whiney, unwanted houseguest as I had hinted all day at wanting to hang out and saying how horrible my birthday was so far, but not bad enough to not go. He always seems to calm me down and make me feel better just by my being with him, and I really needed that.

  I hope he didn't mind my visiting too much, but I really don't get how gaming is more important than being with a friend on her birthday. It is however one of the reasons why we make better friends than a couple; if we had been dating his preference to play on the computer would have killed me rather than been an eye-roll inducing event. I was kind of hoping I'd get the birthday present he promised me, but he didn't offer it. I suppose I could have asked for it, but I wasn't brave enough...

  

  When I got home I had to wait another hour for the parentals to feel like doing the cake and present thing, and by that point it was nearly no longer my birthday. Dad had picked up a freezer cake (which I admit I like better than bakery cakes, but not as much as DQ's cakes), and so we ate that after I opened my gifts. Both my Nana and my Grandma had stopped by earlier to drop off birthday cards with money in them (enough to buy two to three books combined), and my parents got me a movie I wanted plus a new watch (I lost my old one a year ago). After that we watched a VHS my parents had bought, and thankfully it was something I didn't mind seeing as it had been years since I last watched it.

  My birthday with the family always seems to be a let down, and I just thought this one would be different. Not only was it an important birthday, but my last one with my parents. By this time next year I'll be in a far away country, and when I do come back it may not even be to the same province. Maybe I just expected too much, and that's why it hurt when I didn't get the birthday I hoped for. I'm an adult now, and no one thinks birthdays are important after you reach double-digits...

  No one except me, I guess.

  ❤ Sumr

  • 4:13 am
  • 1 Comment