Birthday Splurges & Reflective Spoiled Wifey

Forget birthdays. I celebrate my birth MONTH! That’s right, all month long I celebrate ME. Indulgent? Yes. Am I worth it? Hell Yes!

The following list of activities & gifts have made my birth month truly special and indulgent. In no particular order, I have enjoyed:

(1) Hubby teaching kiddo the importance of birthdays, other than his own. The two went grocery shopping for my birthday dinner and cake. They also bought me a gorgeous bouquet of yellow roses (my favorite!) and a small birthday gift, an insulated water bottle (which I have been wanting but never have gotten around to getting. Best of all, kiddo picked it out just for me!)

(2) Coffee & brunch with Gal Pals in my honor, not once but twice!

(3) Cupcakes (no calories the month of January!)

(4) New pair of prescription glasses & sunglasses.

This is the big splurge since I haven’t updated my frames in 9 years or so.

(5) Out to dinner alone with Hubby

My choice – Mexican, which normally would require some arm-twisting of hubby. Not only did I NOT get a no-I’m-not-gritting-my-teeth smile, but I got his genuine smile (therefore, very sexy) and great conversation. Thankfully, we do still have other things to talk about other than his career, my domesticity, and our child.

(6) Dinner made by Hubby – Savory Crepes (Yum!)

(7) Pedicure & Retail Therapy (Ahhhh Aveda!)

(8) Birthday cards received from friends & family via Snail Mail.

For a friend to take the time to pick out a card and mail it, well, to me that truly is a testimony of friendship because of the time & effort involved when clearly we are all too busy.

(9) Silence/Alone Time * the greatest gift of all these days

I get to write and reflect uninterrupted in the afternoon when I’m most alert. Not at night when I’m dragging from a full day of whatever it is I do all day.

And now for Reflective Spoiled Wifey

Perhaps since my birthday falls in January, I naturally reflect on my past, my present and my future.

Today, however, I will not go into a downward spiral wondering what I have and have not accomplished in my thirty-something years. Undoubtedly, with too much introspection, I will fall short or feel like a failure. Or feel like I could do more, so much more and the clock is a-ticking, time is a-wasting, and I need to get moving.

Right now life is still full of Possibilities. Of Delight. Of Happiness.

I am the Mother I want to be.

I am the Wife I want to be.

I am the Daughter I want to be.

I am the Friend I want to be.

But Am I the Woman I want to be?

What is important to me now?

Family. Relationships. Sense of Self. Comfortable in my Own Skin. Community.

I don’t fear aging (That’s a little white lie: maybe I have just a little bit of fear).

I say that while thinking about my post-baby body & look transformation list. *ahem* The list is quite long: tattoos, nails, developing a long-term relationship with a hair stylist, laser hair removal, teeth whitening, new wardrobe, exercise regimen (Zumba, baby!)…..We are working on post-baby transformation budget. So maybe a bit more fear than I realize. Or perhaps I look at it as taking care of myself (and keeping Hubby interested.) ;)

It has taken me years but I am still working on balancing and accepting my chosen role as stay-at-home mom. I just recently started scheming again, trying to figure out what I could do for paid employment outside the home. I did this a lot with my first child during the first year of his life until my Mother-in-Law commented in a non-judgmental way that I should really should just enjoy this stage of motherhood because I can. So I really have let that go, defining myself through work outside the home. (I grew up thinking I’d be Super Mom and have it all – Family, Baby, Career. However, I just never found the perfect Career for me to make the Juggle of Life worth it. Trust me, I have been all over the map trying things out: Military, Graduate School, Non-profit, Massage Therapy.)

Now with the second child on its way, I once again face the reality that I will not work outside the home for a minimum of two years (unless our circumstances drastically change) but most likely for another five years. And while this is what I want and what Hubby and I think is best for our family, it’s a bit disconcerting looking at the other side, 10 years down the road. What will I do/can I do when I’m a forty-something-year old with a sporadic part-time work history for the past decade?! But alas, I am not worrying too much, as I have plans, ideas, schemes and a very strong belief that I can do it (once I figure out what “IT” is!). Besides I’m enjoying this stage of Motherhood. It’s just turning into a long stage, taking care of soon-to-be baby and a preschooler.

So this is me during my birth month in a nutshell: a happy thirty-something-year old who thinks being in her 30s rocks! Life is Good! And I know I’m spoiled.