It's my birthday and when it's my birthday I turn into an absolute psycho.

24th birthday-  

can't you tell how intense I am about birthdays just from this picture?!

Today is my birthday.  I’m 29!

(It feels like a huge joke to say that I’m 29.  Isn’t that always the thing that 45 year olds try to pull… “I just turned 29 hahahaHAHAHA.”  But seriously, you crazy old timers...   I really am 29!)

I’ve always really gotten into birthdays.  My birthday, specifically.  I’m a bit like a ten year old like that.  It’s adorable if you’re into adults who act like children.  I count down, I throw tantrums if people don’t remember, I make a lot of cake requests.  (Chocolate chip cake, no ice cream cake, no cheesecake… CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM CHEESECAKE!)  It’s basically hell on earth to be someone close to me when my birthday rolls around.  For those of you who are close to me and have experienced the intensity of my birthday expectations- Greg, mom, best friends, past boyfriends-  this is my formal apology.  I’m really really really sorry about how weird I get about my birthday. 

Let me just prove to you how crazy I am about my bday.  When I turned 18, I threw myself my own huge backyard birthday bash and invited about 80 people with whom I had just graduated from high school.  I remember me and my best friend, Akasha, sat in my backyard and individually called every single one of those people to invite them over.  A ridiculous amount of people showed up, and it was wild and awesome and everybody sang to me while I blew out my candles JUST AS I HAD PLANNED and it wasn’t until years later that I realized how totally weird that was.  (Also, a total side note but this is one of my favorite memories- when begging my parents to let it be a “hot tub party” and allow party guests to use the hot tub, my dad was emphatic.  “Absolutely not.”   

He was so stubborn about it and wouldn’t give me a reason.  I thought he was being unnecessarily strict and totally the meanest parent ever . “BUT YOU HAVE NO REASON! !!  WHY CAN’T WE GET IN THE HOT TUB?!?” I begged.

“BECAUSE IT MAKES BOYS HORNY!” My ultra conservative dad finally snapped.  And that was officially the first and last time I heard my dad use the word “horny.”)

Let's see... other crazy birthdays.  My 24^th birthday I put so much pressure on my poor boyfriend that he broke up with me two days before the big day.  I mean, he planned me a birthday party and everything but he was the only one not there.  He couldn’t handle the expectations.  (But then I met Greg a month later so maybe it is my insane birthday love that bucked off Boyfriend so that I could meet and marry Greg?!?)

My first birthday with Greg ended in tears.  I couldn’t understand why Greg wasn’t celebrating all day long and doing every single thing I wanted him to do with me.  It was confusing for us all.  Luckily we made it past that first birthday and I have learned to not be a crazy psycho on my birthday and Greg has learned to remember to buy me a gift.  Marriage = Learning.  

I started writing this post with the intention of something really sweet and profound or maybe inspirational (and totally pinnable!  All blog posts must be pinnable!), like 28 things I learned when I was 28!  or 29 things I want to do when I’m 29!  Instead it just turned into me confessing to you what a birthday weirdo I am.  And so it goes (Name that book!)

I don't have anything too profound to say (shocker) so I'll just end with this.  I’m kind of sad to see 28 go.  28 was the best year of my life because 28 was how old I was when I became a mom.  And nothing I’ve ever done during any other age was half as cool, or made me as happy ,or changed me so deeply and profoundly. (I mean, don't get me wrong, the year I sold Mary Kay was a close second...)  I feel like my heart is fuller and happier at 28 than it ever has been before.

   

So thanks 28, for totally kicking butt.

Onward 29!