Birthday #36

Well, birthday #36 is in the books and it was a good one. I personally think that people should automatically have their birthday off from work; but, since corporate America does not agree, I went to work. As I walked in, I met my dear friend Brenda in the hallway and she had a balloon and a gift for me. She was trying to beat me to my desk but we ended up bumping into each other which made for a good laugh. Brenda gave me a picture frame, a framed picture for the bathroom and a University of Alabama badge reel. It was so nice of her to think of me; she is such a sweet friend.

The work day wasn't too bad as I had lots of emails and a few phone calls from people wanting to wish me a happy birthday. In the afternoon I got a card from my co-workers which made me laugh hysterically. At work we often recycle cards. So, the card I got for my birthday was actually a Christmas card I had given another co-worker. My boss marked out Christmas and but birthday and she made a little birthday hat for the dog on the front who was originally wearing a Santa hat. It made for a good laugh and a fun afternoon. I had also put my name down to take home the flowers from the front lobby the week of my birthday so after I retrieved the flowers everyone kept asking me who sent them and I told them my boss did since I was her favorite employee. This caused a great amount of laughing as well.

After work I went by my house to pull out the wooden blanks that are used to help my mom get her wheelchair into the house since she was going to be coming over for some cake after dinner. I went back out to the car to leave to meet everyone for dinner and my car wouldn't start. It had a hard time starting that morning and afternoon and now it wouldn't start at all so I called my parents and asked them to come pick me up. Thankfully everyone else was prompt and got to the restaurant early so we had a table. We went to eat at Red Lobster which is kind of my birthday dinner tradition. I used to love to eat there for my birthday when I was a kid and still do today. There were 14 of us at dinner and it was surprisingly not as chaotic as I expected it to be. My grandmother bought my dinner and my aunt's dinner as we both have February birthdays.

When we were finished with dinner, most of my family and Jackie (who is also family) came back to my house for some delicious chocolate cake. I also opened my presents. I got a bracelet, a Spirograph (Oh yeah!), a concordance, and a massage from my parents, a bracelet from my granddad and Jackie got me a new Bible which I desperately needed since my favorite one if falling to pieces. My aunt and cousins got me a gift card to Amazon, the movies and two 12-packs of Diet Coke, and my great-aunt got me a scarf and a cute tote. I loved everything and am thankful for everyone's kindness. On Saturday, Erika stopped by with a gift of kitchen towels and matching clip magnets for the fridge which were all adorable. She also had a piece of chocolate cake while we visited.

It was truly a nice birthday. I wasn't sure I was going to be up for celebrating this year even before my grandfather passed away. I think it did us all a little good to get together for a happy occasion after all the sadness that we have had. I'm glad we all were able to get together and I'm thankful for such a loving group of family and friends. Here's to hoping year 36 will be a good one!