Birthdays at Home – Thoughts from July 1 and 6, 2024

July 1, 2024

July is here, and the hot summer bugs are singing their songs. To me, the songs mostly sound like Happy Birthday because tomorrow is my birthday! I don’t know if I’ve ever talked about what it’s like to have a summer birthday, so here I go. If you have a summer birthday, you already know what it’s like. Having a birthday in the summer means you never celebrate your birthday in school and you’re the same age for the entire school year. Being held back a year meant I was always a year older than my classmates (if not two years for part of the year).

I also have a holiday around my birthday, but I’ve talked about that many times. On the fourth of July, fireworks have become my annoying birthday aftermath. I used to be ok with fireworks, but my hearing problems have made them intolerable. This year I remembered to take my birthday off so I can actually celebrate on my birthday. What am I doing tomorrow for my day of birth? I only have vague plans that mostly involve staying home and hanging with Patti and the girls (the cats). That’s a pleasant birthday for me.

I bought dairy-free ice cream specifically for my birthday. Patti bought Blue Milk that was inspired by Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. Unlike what they sell at Disneyland, it has low fat milk in it. I’ll probably try it, but I can’t have too much because I don’t do well on dairy. It tends to make it hard for me to breathe. I don’t think that’s a sign of lactose intolerance, but it’s something I’ve noticed when I have dairy. Patti also bought plenty of alcoholic drinks to celebrate with. My choices of beverages are many and varied.

The only thing I usually want to eat besides sugary things on my birthday is sushi. I remember when I was a kid that all I wanted for my birthday were chili dogs from Wienerschnitzel. It was one of the many times when my parents said, “Are you sure?” My primary criteria for getting food I like is not having to eat at a restaurant. It was true then, and it’s true now. I’ve had many excellent food items in restaurants, but they all would have been better if I didn’t have to eat them in a restaurant. You can call me a home body because that describes me best.

July 6, 2024

I will now travel back in time to July 2. It only seems like it was four days ago because it was. 54 years ago, on that day, I was born. Yes, that means I’m now 54. One more year and I will qualify as a senior citizen. If I don’t have to feel like a senior citizen, I’m fine with being one. I celebrated on that day with gobs of sushi. If fact, it took me three days to finish all the sushi we got. Patti took too long to eat her half of the sushi, so I had to eat her portion. The main reason I ate her leftovers is because she doesn’t like leftovers. She claims she’s fine with them, but they usually go bad before she eats them.

The other thing Patti and I did at home on my birthday is drink ourselves silly. We had several sample cocktails that we tried, and Patti made up a few of her own. I rarely get completely drunk these days because I make sure I’m eating as I’m drinking. The one thing I can count on is gaining weight the next day. I had my usual nachos late at night besides the dairy free Ben and Jerry’s ice cream I bought on our last grocery shopping trip. It was a new flavor that combined chocolate chip cookie dough with caramel. After having no sugar most of the time, it was excellent.

All together, I was home four days in a row. It was truly a test of how much the cats want to hang out with me. As it turns out, it’s not long enough for them to tire of me. If I was on the couch, Luna was sleeping on my lap. While I was stretching, Luna and Willow were licking my hair. Sometimes, even Beatrix and Scout came in to hang out. When I went to bed, I had to negotiate around Beatrix and Scout for a sliver of bed space. If Patti and I were working outside, all of them would watch us from inside the house. Moving meant at least one of them (if not all of them) would move with us.