..at least, a slightly older woman. and i kinda love it! every time i've been carded since my birthday (so, the past two days) i have flashed my i.d. with pride. "BAM! that's right. aren't you silly for asking me my age? didn't realize i was such an established adult in this world, did you?" (in my mind, of course).
mmmmm...i like it.
i have to say, this birthday was a great one. it's not every year i am able to get together with many of my closest friends for my big day. i've been out of town for the past few years, and while i love traveling, there is something so perfectly birthday-ish about surrounding yourself with friends, food, and wine.
my birthday is honestly one of the few times it's easy to pull together all of my friends, from different areas of my life, in the same room. to get to know each other. to bond. to learn more about me via the other people i love. to learn more about them through their interactions with folks from different walks of life. the smushing together of social circles that generally exist independently of each other.
i realize this annual ability to meld groups of friends is based on an obligation my friends feel to support me on my big day. and i'm totally, completely ok with using this sense of obligation to my advantage.
i love to see the ways in which my friends interact. of course, there are many of my friends who already know and love each other. but then there are the folks that i tend to hang out with one-on-one, or in smaller more isolated groups, those that don't often get pulled into the group of usual suspects.
i love mixing my friends. i love the blending. i love when my friends get to know each other, get to love each other, and further entangle themselves in a huge web of mushy loving friendship as time goes on.
i have this ultimate goal, you see. for all of my friends to love each other, and to naturally decide that we should all set up this fucking wonderful neighborhood where we all live nearby, all get together for caul-de-sac cookouts, all share the same babysitters (shall we decide to procreate...some are already on top of this), and sit on our front porches with coffee. my front porch would have rocking chairs. lots of them.
my plan is underway. introducing these future neighbors is the first critical step, whether they know it or not.
one of the definite highlights of my birthday.
but enough of that mushy crap. let me tell you about how i ended up showing the world that 27 year old amy is waaay more mature than the 26 year old version.
it all started on sunday.
the boyfriend and i headed to the angus barn and made our way upstairs to the lounge of all southern lounges: the effin' wild turkey lounge. filled with mismatched leather furniture, antique tables, a baby grand piano, huge bar, crazy knick-knacks, hardwood floors and oriental rugs, this large area set the tone. casual class, with a little bit of quirck. it's one of my favorite places.
we started off with a bottle of a dry red around 3:30pm, claiming space for the friends to come. quality time with the boyfriend. one glass down. things are lookin' good.
folks started to arrive around 4pm, and we happily dominated one of the prime corner locations of the room. appetizers were ordered, along with my favorite vegetable plate, and the conversation was easy. my yogi friend, my pregnant friend, my engaged friend, my single friends, my older friends, my newer friends, everyone blended and everyone talked. and everyone drank. especially me.
with all of my wonderful loved ones to talk to, i essentially forgot to eat. sure, i stole a few shrimp here and there (thanks!) and a few grilled veggies, but for the most part - i just drank.
it was almost like magic. my glass was always half (if not completely) full. over the course of about 4 hours, i estimate i had perhaps 4 glasses of wine. over my limit (of one), to be sure, but certainly not cause for significant concern.
and then came the shot.
my dear friends know that amy and liquor do not mix. but it doesn't change the fact that a birthday just isn't a birthday unless you take a shot. and so, some darling lady loves of mine put in the order. to their credit, they each took one with me! but it was a whopper. rather than a quick shot, it was a few gulps, but (to my memory...remember, this is after several glasses of wine) i took it like a champ.
as we all prepared to leave i distributed my hugs, made sure everyone knew how much i loved them (with emphasis - wine is a truth serum), and learned to my great joy that i had one final stop before home.
yo pop!
a new-ish establishment to our area, this creamy wonderland is a source of great joy in the form of frozen yogurt. a beautiful variety of flavors, sugar levels, and toppings, all in a self-serve format. to top it off, a couple of friends were joining us.
we all hopped into the boyfriends car and headed to yo pop heaven. on the drive, i had a very real, very 27 year old realization. i was shmammered. and i was going to puke. every turn felt like a 180 spin. every acceleration felt like i was on a dizzying speedway. by the time we completed the five minute trek, i knew it was time. this was my moment.
entering the establishment, i whispered to the boyfriend, "baby, i'm going to go throw up now. shh, don't tell."
a 27 year old, clearly, does not openly puke in public. i am a lady! i smiled to my friends, did my best "i'm just going to go pee" strut, locked the door, and maturely took care business. (yes, there were small children just outside the door)
...and then, came the yo pop :)
the boyfriend assures me that i was incredibly covert, very classy, no one would have known. perhaps that was a birthday white lie. we're going to play along and assume he told the truth. he took wonderful care of me upon our return home, and while there may have been a round two...nobody needs to hear about that.
suffice it to say, i woke up on my actual birthday (monday) with a hangover, an 8am call with my boss, and a long day ahead of me. i won't lie. it was fucking.torture.
the boyfriend deserves an award for his thoughtfulness that night. he dealt with the waste of space that was the birthday girl with charm. he picked up the meal i had intended to eat the night previously from the angus barn, complete with all dine-in accompaniments, and even finished up with some yo-pop. i kept it all down this time :) it was wonderful. he asked me if i wanted anything to drink, and he handled my "ONLY WATER!" response like a pro. he brought me a pitcher. we cuddled. i recovered. he put me to bed and rubbed my back.
i don't think i'll be drinking any wine in the near future. i'm going to remember that hangover as a gruelling mark of womanhood. but my 24 hour birthday celebration will be a good memory to hold onto.
thank you to my friends. for spending time with me. for getting me shmammered. for loving on each other, and on me. and thank you to my boyfriend. for everything.
27, bit#che$! :)
love, aQ
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