Glitter Diaries: Happy Birthday to Me!
Today, I am celebrating my quarter-of-a-century (plus three) birthday without too much fanfare. I kind of already received many birthday wishes on April 1st when I played a prank and changed my birthday on Facebook (I managed to fool over 60 people). My birthday this year has been different from past ones, though. My lack of excitement could very well be because of how much tougher this year has been for me on both personal and professional levels, but I also think these feelings come with the territory of growing older.
I remember when I was younger, April 13th was a day that I looked forward to with great excitement. I would call up all of my friends (in the days when you had all of your friends' home phone numbers memorised), make a trip to Dairy Queen with my mom to pick out my ice cream cake, and decorate my house the day of the party with balloons and streamers. In recent years, however, I have not really had any desire to have a huge celebration. It's almost as if I feel that there are more important and better milestones to celebrate, and I am just waiting on those ones to arrive. One of them is my wedding which I will plan and have once D is officially able to live in Canada with me. Then hopefully after our wedding, I would be able to look forward to my first house with D, followed by our first baby, and then finally the many milestones that come with having children.
With my birthday being on a Wednesday, it was difficult to find a good time to celebrate it, anyway. This past weekend was not a good one since D would not have been here, my sister was expected at work on Saturday, and Sunday, all of my friends and I were busy happily celebrating and showering E (a wonderful friend to all of us) and her bump with love. The next option to celebrate would have been this upcoming weekend, but in Asian culture, it is considered bad luck to celebrate your birthday after the fact. For this reason, I decided that this year, I would take it easy. By "taking it easy", I mean that I was planning on getting myself my traditional DQ ice cream cake, and having a slice all by myself, today. My sister was not having any of that, though, and tonight, she is taking me to dinner, just the two of us, so that we can celebrate my birthday, on the actual day.
One thing I am sure of this year as I turn 28 and (hopefully) grow wiser, is that it really isn't all of the material possessions or accomplishments that make a person successful. It's taken a long time, but I have now come to the conclusion that I am rich, and successful, not because of what is in my savings account, but because of the people that God has blessed me with.
I have my caring, thoughtful and protective older sister who is going out of her way (she rarely goes out during the week because she is always so busy with work) this year to help me feel special on a day that I was only semi looking forward to. I have D has also been the best in terms of making the day important by winning in the gift department. He arrived on Sunday with my birthday gifts, and left this morning because he had to go back to work. He did really good this year (not that he's been bad in the past) and got me presents from Kate Spade, and a brand new Chloé perfume that I had been eyeing in Sephora. My really close friend at work, C, has apparently been planning a small get-together this Friday, but promised me that it wouldn't be anything huge since I mentioned the superstition that I carry about celebrating birthdays after they've passed. Every day, I feel lucky to have the parents that I do, and the best friends that I do. Thanks to all of these people, on this day, my 28th birthday, I am truly happy, and I could not have asked for more.
I have my caring, thoughtful and protective older sister who is going out of her way (she rarely goes out during the week because she is always so busy with work) this year to help me feel special on a day that I was only semi looking forward to. I have D has also been the best in terms of making the day important by winning in the gift department. He arrived on Sunday with my birthday gifts, and left this morning because he had to go back to work. He did really good this year (not that he's been bad in the past) and got me presents from Kate Spade, and a brand new Chloé perfume that I had been eyeing in Sephora. My really close friend at work, C, has apparently been planning a small get-together this Friday, but promised me that it wouldn't be anything huge since I mentioned the superstition that I carry about celebrating birthdays after they've passed. Every day, I feel lucky to have the parents that I do, and the best friends that I do. Thanks to all of these people, on this day, my 28th birthday, I am truly happy, and I could not have asked for more.
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