For many years in my 20's I chose to not only celebrate Sept. 18 on my real birthday but I chose to celebrate for seven total days in what I called a birthday week. I wanted to go to dinner, to a movie, bowling or just hang out with friends at home with a few cold beers each day for seven days. Why celebrate for just one day? That was my thought but long gone are the birthday weeks and I have paid the price for the dismissal of the week-long celebration.
A lot of people dread turning 30 years old. I for one welcomed the opportunity as I considered a leap into the grown up world finally. I thought with a new decade of years would come a growth in my career, mind and overall life. In some regards that has happened I guess. On my 30th birthday I was driving six hours in my blue truck to complete my move from North Carolina to Texas. I was starting a new job at UT with hopes of taking a step forward in my career. I was totally wrong on that looking back over the last year but I won't get into that much. This past year has tested me in many ways and I have failed in some but the experiences has made me feel more grown up. I no longer party like I used to and certainly think more about my health and finances than ever before. I miss the old me but felt these changes were necessary.
Back to my actual 30th birthday. Moving and driving to an unknown place with so many questions rushing through your head is not an easy thing to do. I was not only changing jobs but packing up and moving halfway across the U.S. to a new city, new state, new timezone and a place I knew nobody all after having just a few days to make a decision to move or not. Add on to that I was leaving a place where I had developed some really great friendships and had a great job. It was not easy to do but felt like I could move up in the business by doing it. Leaving my friends was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The two days prior to leaving weighed heavy on my heart and made me depressed. It would last for several months which was a sign I shouldn't have left in my mind. This made my birthday even tougher as I had planned a reverse surprise birthday party which was my way of giving back to all my friends as my own birthday present. Canceling the party and not spending my b-day with them was rough.
A few things really turned my birthday around however. As I was having breakfast in a hotel in Longwood, Texas, I received a call from my friend Ashley, one of those friends I had left behind in N.C. I answered and it was her aunt singing me happy birthday. I had gotten to know her aunt and other members of her family through their generosity of having me to their house for Thanksgiving and a summer weekend at the lake. This turned a frown upside down in a hurry and made the environment in old blue for the six hour drive look more like a unicorn prancing on a rainbow than a ship lost at sea on a drury, rainy afternoon. Before I had left I discovered I had family in Austin and planned to meet them for dinner when I arrived. This cheered me up even more as they came to a place down the road from my hotel, bought me dinner and even brought birthday treats. Family always makes things better no matter how well you know them and for me family is the most important thing in my world. So what wasn't the best birthday I ever had turned into a pretty good one with those two things and the numerous texts/calls/emails I received as well.
One year later I am more settled in and not moving when I turn 31. Things were a lot different from a year prior but I was adjusting to life in the 30's no matter how different it was from my glory days in 20-29. Par for the course I got called in for an early meeting at work. Whenever I get called into a meeting it is never a good thing so I knew that was bad for starters but I also missed out on my chance at stopping for a chicken biscuit, one of the few pleasures I look forward to anymore.
Things picked up after the meeting as Margaret, our administrative assistant, had hung a happy birthday banner on the outside of our office. I quickly forgot about the meeting and moved forward with my day. Many calls and texts later had me walking on sunshine. After work I went with some friends to a local establishment for some trivia. Just prior to leaving I had a sharp pain in my chest but I thought it was because I was still at work at 6 p.m. on my birthday. I dismissed the pain and went to have a few beers and hang out with office mates.
Two beers, 15 missed questions and three hours later the pain in my chest had increased and became more frequent. I complained vocally and must have caused worry from my friends. They insisted I get it checked out and since it was by my heart I didn't fight the idea. We ended up finding a hospital nearby and both Michael (Tomko) and Mary went with me to the ER. I felt guilty going to the ER when I was certain it was probably nothing. However, you shouldn't mess around with pain near the heart of all places. Over one hour in we were still making fun of my hospital gown as I sat in the lobby. Then I finally got called into the hospital exam area. At this time Tomko took Mary home but I really appreciated the concern and worry she expressed for me for the two hours she kept me company. As I went through more tests Tomko returned and met me in the exam room. An exhausting four more hours went by before I was dismissed just before 4 a.m. Tomko was by my side the entire time and luckily good news came from the tests as it turned out to be a weird muscular injury where muscle broke down and seeped into my blood. Not the best way to end my birthday. Usually you would think being drunk as a skunk would put you in the ER if anything would on your birthday but not this time. It was still a decent birthday, however, because of the support of friends during a time where I was pretty freaked out. Thanks so much Tomko and Mary!!!
I hope the remaining birthdays in my 30's are a lot better but no matter what happens on them I will walk away with a smile as long as I have friends and family doing the little things to make them special.
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