Yesterday, I Turned 31.

It was a lovely birthday, spent mostly alone.

I slept until 10 am. Wrestled with the children. Ate a doughnut (which is typically verboten). Spent 2 hours alone in my house while the kids went to the zoo with their Uber-Father. I went to a coffee shop in town and gathered my thoughts.

When I came home there were two children who had been fed, a lovely dinner waiting and a spouse who was flustered but hid it, far better than I ever can. (Imagine: While cooking dinner the glass jar which holds our flour, shatters all over the kitchen. I respect my husband so much.)

After dinner we share a lovely cake, which Madison had a very obvious hand in decorating.

I realize this may not seem like a great birthday.....but how badly last year sucked, this is a vast improvement.

Thirty One is going to be the best year ever. I can feel it.

Comments

[Karoni]

I've been lurking for a while. I can totally relate to stuff you have written. I hope you have a wonderful birthday. Enjoy being 31, it only gets better.

[Poppy]

Happy birthday! Sounds like a blissfully calm day, minus the flour sprinkled with shards of broken glass. I hope other flour was used for the cake.

[Rubber-Sol]

Happy Birthday! :) The cake is great, and I love the photos from the previous post! It's a party wherever you guys go!
P.S. Love the photo of "twirling Madison!"

[DeAnn]

I love my fellow Virgos. Therefore, I love you! (As if I had to know you were a Virgo to adore you; your writing accomplishes that.)

I'll shut it with the sap now. But I couldn't resist saying it. Because I'm always happy to find birthdays so close to mine.

[pinky]

Happy Birthday! One of my dear friends' birthday is the day before yours - my dad's birthday is tomorrow and my sister's birthday is in a week! I am wealthy with Virgos!

Have a wonderful 31.

[Loody]

Glad you had a great birthday! I hope this year is wonderful for you.

[Mir]

Happy belated birthday! It sounds grand. Here's to the best year EVER!

[Michele]

Happy birthday, may this year be kick ass!

[Jerri Ann]

I jsut had a birthday too and just as my husband, son, mom and I were preparing to go out to a lovely dinner, my cousin almost bangs my door down to tell me that my mom's house just burned to the ground...lovely, maybe there is just something about birthdays in September! happy bday anyway!

[Sarcomical]

Yay! Happy Birthday to you! And you don't look a day over 23!

Hope you had a great day.

[Grace]

Fantastic! You got to sleep in AND have the day mostly alone? Plus dinner was ready when you got home? That's outstanding! Just the kind of birthday I want! Woohoo!

[Heather]

Actually, sounds like a good bday to me. (((HUGS)))

[Alyssa]

Now that I am 34 and very wise (not), I can tell you that birthday is as good as it gets. One day, when your kids are in college or off in thier own lives, you'll WISH they were there? isnt that weird?! I am with you,at this point in thier childhoods, I enjoy celebrating Mother's Day and my birthday ALONE. Glad Logan was able to pull it off! A nice day to do what you feel like doing is a wonderful gift.

[alice]

Happy motherfucking birthday!

[Hanna]

Happy birthday! Sounds like a good start to the year - time alone, cake and meds, what can be better? And nice job, Madison, on the cake decoration! Your cake looks somewhat like the one I decorated for my mom's 36th birthday (complete with icing rainbow and plastic lion) when I was 8. Although someone in your family clearly had the sense to limit the candles - in my childish wisdom, I'd put 36 candles on a 9"X9" square cake, thus practically starting an inferno in our apartment when the candles were lit, and subsequently making the cake look like it had been hit by a maniac with BB gun once all the damn candles were extinguished and removed. Party on!

[scott]

Life feels much funnier when you write aboutit. We blog therapists love to read about your lives. Keep going!

[sarcastic journalist]

what a cute cake!! i really hope that this year is good for you. i love it when the dad has to stay home with the kids-- they get to see how difficult it can be. I only have one, I can imagine how it must be with two.

Here is to 31 being the best yet!

[SAJ]

happy birthday from me too!

[Lil' Sis]

Happy Buttafuoco, Lis!
Sorry i didn't call but I lost my mind this weekend & couldn't stop crying. Hopefully it sucked all the bad mojo from your weekend so you were left with sunshine and naps. Feeling better now. Wanna take you out for drinks tonight or tomorrow. Call me.

XOXO
Miao.

[jilbur]

happyhappyhappy birthday, Melissa dear. You young chicken ya. Thirty-one is babycakes stuff. I hope you're still blogging strong when you're a dessicated forty year old like me.

[Jennifer]

If I'da known it was your birthday, I'da baked a cake.

*lol* Sorry...a little something my mom used to sing.

I hope this year is indeed the best ever, and the one where you feel yourself literally getting back on track to being fully happy and alive.

[kalisah]

what a cool fucking cake!!!

[tricia]

A very happy birthday to you! My thirties were the best.....I wish I had realized at the time just how young I was.

[Charla]

Happy 31st! Here's to many more!!

[briantologist]

Happy goddamn birthday.

[Julia S]

Happy birthday! It sounds lovely.

[Rebecca]

Like most of my bills, this is a few days late. Happy belated Melissa. Glad to hear this year's was a step above last year.

[Katie]

Happy Birthday!!!

[Heatheranne]

Happy Birthday!!

[Kelly]

Happy Birthday. A day alone -- I'm so jealous!!

[Marcia]

Happy Birthday! Sounds like a fun day.

I didn't realize that you're so young...

[A]

I hope you had a wonderful day, and that you shared your cake with Jesus Christ.

The happiest of (belated) birthdays to you!!!

[Philip]

Happy Birthday fellow Virgo.