Happy Birthday!

It was my BIRTHDAY! Don't worry if you missed it, my half birthday is in like a month and that's plenty of time to get something together. Birthdays were never really a big thing in my family growing up.  We never decorated the house or had a big party.  Actually, now that I think about it we didn't really have small parties either. Just dinner and dessert with the fam.  I don't regret it.  It was great to be able to pick whatever you wanted for dinner because 'super chef mom', as we like to call her, would make it absolutely fabulous.  But what I do remember is pretty much the best thing ever: the first bite tradition.  It's very simple and especially wonderful.  After candles are extinguished, birthday boy/girl takes a big 'ol bite right out of their cake.  You know the one that you special requested from DQ with shark gummies? The giant chocolate chip cookie that was still frozen when said first bite was taken? Yep, that one.  My entire childhood I thought that this was a tradition everyone carried.  And to this day, I'm not sure why it's not more common.  Because there really is nothing better than cake and frosting all over someone's face.

After meeting Brent, birthday experiences for me made a 180 degree turn.  For my birthday this year, it was JUST THE TWO OF US, and that cutie-patootie decorated our entire living room, purchased birthday plates and plasticware, a table cloth, and big, fat, beautiful cake as big as my head complete with guilt trip for spending $40 on it.  And why not? Birthdays are a perfect excuse to celebrate how great your life is, the things you have accomplished, and how much wiser you have become in the past year.  It makes me wonder why we don't throw more spontaneous parties for accomplishments.  Because if we are willing to make such a big deal about living an extra year, why not about a raise at work, or a good grade, or because it snowed, or maybe just because the sun came up today. 

I like them both, the un-birthday party and the over-birthday party.  But I'm most grateful that Brent and I get to choose the way we do birthdays, our own way.

*Seriously, that cake was huge. This picture was taken AFTER we had all that we could eat.