11323 days

interesting.  very interesting.

i am reluctant to share what i find so interesting about my post title, less it get convoluted.  but i’ll just lay it out and let you make the connections, if you see any.

today, my 31st birthday, on the 23rd of september.  i have been alive 11323 days.  i was born at 10:23am.  a lot of 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s flying around.  that’s all.  any numerologists out there who could tell me what that means?

birthdays are interesting for me.  i don’t get sad about getting older, but it is weird.  it was fun when i was younger and could handle partying and drinking, but these days, i just feel like going to sleep when a beer hits my lips.  (only at home though.  on the RARE occasion i get out of the house and do some non-school socializing, i can maybe have one.)

regardless of my ability to handle alcohol, birthdays have also always been a time for me to reflect on my life and take a mental inventory.  a personal “new years day”.  i’ll dispose of personal matters (or at least try to) in a variety of ways.  a good life evaluation is occasionally in order.  a look to the future is fun too.  what will the next year have in store?  so much is about to change in a dynamic way in the next 2 years on soooo many levels.  it makes my head spin, so i don’t dwell too long!

birthdays are also about family.  this meaning has changed and become fluid over the years, but the 2 people who have given me so much over the years, beginning with the gift of life, are the ones who deserve the most credit.  my mom and my dad are too wonderful for words.  they have taught me so much and given me so many life skills, it’s unreal!  if something broke on my 1972 Opel GT, i was taught to diagnose and fix if capable.  if nothing else, i often sat with my dad and “assisted”, meaning “sat there looking totally bored as only a teenage girl can do”.  trust me dad, i listened.  i might not have looked like i was, and i can’t fix a car like you could, but i can take care of the little shit, and nobody is going to take this girl for a fool.  i also understand the rational for getting me a car that was a 2-seater, but really really fun, and not a little broken!  i learned how to safely wait for tow-trucks, park in well lit areas in case she wouldn’t start when i got in, communicate with auto body guys, work the DMV system for classic car status, clean oil out of the driveway, make use of kitchen spices to tackle battery corrosion (tabasco.  true that).  the list goes on and on.  i was never treated as if i couldn’t do something because i was a girl either.  i was taught how to use power tools and was given the tools to be confident in taking classes like metal sculpture where i could play with fire and metal.  so thanks dad.  you have made a difference in my life!

and my mama!!  she’s a riot.  (and she doesn’t mean to be sometimes, but she is!  shhh.  don’t tell her.)  she’s wonderful and special and the Dictator’s best friend.  she taught me about gardening and history and art and strength and life, and the list goes on and on.  she is much loved by all and has even served as a second mom to many of my best friends.

that saying “friends are family you make for yourself” comes into play here.  i have a few sisters that have come to me from different parents.  our celestial paths have had the good fortune to cross on this planet and i don’t know how i would have made it this far in life with out them.  Kaisie, brooke, anna, kelly.  i have a different relationship with each of them.  drastically different, and all infinitly cool.  a birthday is not complete without a connection to one or more of these girls.

so that’s it.  well, that’s all the mental inventory that i am going to share with you my dear readers.  my birthday was nice, and i skipped out on school.  i shouldn’t have, but i did.  i really didn’t want to spend my 31st birthday with a bunch of 21 year olds.  i needed a mental health day.