Having barely recovered sufficiently (ish) from my oldest child reaching the age of adulthood, I had to turn right around and steel myself to face my own impending birthday. Eh, while adding a digit to the increasing total might not seem like such a....joyous...thing at this point in one's journey, the bottom line is that there's no doubt I'm abundantly grateful to be gifted with another year on Earth...and the time to appreciate my many blessings!
But--funny story--here's how NOT focusing on celebrating I was: when my new physician suggested I consider the updated shingles vaccine, which is now recommended for a younger group of patients (including me...rats!), I dutifully went ahead and scheduled it...for 3 days before my birthday...and then put it out of my mind completely. In fact, it wasn't until the day before my appointment that I even thought to check out the specifics of this particular medicine, to find out what, exactly, I had gotten myself into. According to my intensive research--um, "Googling"--it turns out that it is not egg-based (huge relief), so I didn't have to worry on that account. However, the CDC was admirably transparent about describing some fairly-innocuous-but-nevertheless-unpleasant possible side effects, such as headaches, digestive issues, and generally feeling slightly ill for up to 3-5 days after the shot. Oh...FABULOUS.
So it was with no small amount of trepidation that I presented myself for the needle...but the happy ending to the tale is that the worst symptoms for me were an achy arm (pretty severe for one day, less so the next, then more or less back to normal), and one morning of a mildly upset stomach.Which was quite a relief, since I'd also been invited out for a cousin-birthday-lunch the day following my inoculation, and I naturally wanted to be able to enjoy the company--and yummy food! (Both of which were utterly delightful...)
Then on my actual bday, we went with a non-traditional outing...to the movie theater, so see Avengers: Infinity War. (Hey, superheroes, popcorn, and soda from the FreeStyle machine constitute quite a treat for me, what can I say?) Yeeeaahhhh....in retrospect, this might not have been the best idea....since neither the boys nor I were aware ahead of time that it's such a dark film...with a bleak, (dare I say) emotionally devastating ending. (If you're overly invested in the Marvel Universe and its characters, that is. Like I totally am...siiiighhhhh...) Definitely not the most...uplifting...activity we could have chosen...but at least we had LOTS to discuss on the way home? (Suuurrre, let's go with that...)
At least when we returned to the house there were presents to open--because even though I asked for very specific items and therefore already knew what I would be receiving, it still counts, right? There was the extra-thick exercise mat, to cushion me from the hard, uneven ground during outdoor bootcamp class. (Yay! No more bruises from lying on rocks while doing crunches and whatnot!) And the new Kindle I'd asked for--smaller, lighter, faster...and with Alexa! (Because yes, I AM Just. That. Dorky.) So--stick with me, here, this gets a little convoluted--in playing around with my new toy, it suddenly struck me that, since we have Amazon Prime (of course we do, impatient souls that we are...or, you know, "I" am....) I also have the Amazon music app on my phone...with Alexa, who I've not been utilizing because...well, I'm not really sure why, to be honest.
But then Husband recorded a documentary about the Ramones, for some reason, and watching it made me all nostalgic about the time a girlfriend and I, waaaaayyy back in the 90s, actually saw the band live, at a semi-scary venue called Hammerjacks. (Yep, just as...ahem...tough as it sounds!) As I remember it, we showed up in our denim mini-skirts and preppy t-shirts and tried our best to nonchalantly "blend" with the pierced, tattooed, leather-clad, foot-high-electric-blue-mohawk (this was my personal fave--I couldn't tear my eyes off this dude. That hair was spec-tac-ular, I tell ya...) crowd standing in line with us, waiting to be admitted. (And don't even get me started on the mesmerizing spectacle known as a "mosh pit"--albeit observed from a safe distance in the balcony, so as not to get trampled...or worse. Suffice it to say, we sheltered suburban chicks had ourselves quite the experience...)
Anyway, after hearing 30 minutes or so of early American punk's greatest hits, I was pretty psyched to head out for my evening run...and rather than stand around for 15 minutes and dither over playlists like I usually do, for once it seemed clear what music should accompany my workout. So in a flash of inspiration, I woke up my virtual assistant and politely requested that she "play the Ramones". She promptly responded "shuffling songs by the Ramones".
And in that gratifying moment I marveled that--no matter which birthday has come and gone, or how I'm "not getting any younger" (read this in a cranky old lady voice, if you will) I must be at a very lucky place in my life, regardless. After all, I have wonderful memories from my youth...that I can still recall with great clarity (for now!)...and as a bonus, I can relive them whenever I want, with the help of the modern era's impressive artificial intelligence! All that, AND gluten-free cake? I think that's what we call WINNING, my friends!
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