Quarantine birthdays are not an unique experience anymore. We’ve had months of people celebrating in quarantine at this point, and we’ve missed first birthdays and 18th birthdays and so my 35th wasn’t a huge deal. We probably wouldn’t have done much different had there not been a quarantine. Sure, I would have loved to go to a movie theater or sat in a Starbucks while I caught up with my best friend, but the empty parking lot where we met while we sat in our trunks was actually kind of fun. It certainly made it memorable.
As for the rest of the day, I got cards from Tom and the kids, we did takeout from the Cheesecake factory, and E sang me Happy Birthday at least a couple of times. I’m realizing that some of my favorite days over the past few months are the ones that most people are sad about. Easter, Mother’s Day, my birthday – I was happy to be home spending time with the kids. I guess we don’t usually do anything big, so there was nothing to miss. It’s the random Tuesdays or Sunday afternoons that I end up wishing we could get in the car and drive somewhere.
I miss my friends and family at the end of a long day where this feels very heavy and hard, and I realize how alone we are. But on my birthday? I heard from so many people and definitely felt loved. Messages poured in all day, and I was able to catch up with people that I hadn’t in a while. We’ve already started celebrating E’s birthday of course (which has left him quite confused as to if he’s 3 years old or still 2 at this point) but I’m pretty sure he’s not feeling like he’s missing out too much. Sure he wants to see his friends and family – that’s never changed. But he loves his decorations, presents and cake that he’s received already, so I’m pretty sure this is a birthday win for him as well.
I still hope that next year I’ll be able to stay home and celebrate my birthday – by choice!
