The Suckiest Birthday

Last year, I had the longest birthday ever. It was the day we came home from Korea. In the year that we've been back, we've battled boils, suffered a vicious 4th of July casualty followed by reconstructive surgery, endured multiple short stints in crash pads, moved into a tiny house with three large houseloads of goods consolidated from three different corners of the globe, bought a new-to-us car, adopted Henry, started a new job, began homeschooling and oh yeah, my mother died.

This year, for my birthday, I was looking forward to a nice quiet family party. Which we had, except for the quiet part. I felt like roadkill all weekend and didn't leave the house. I even had to lay on the couch while I was eating the delicious cake my sister made. That was a real bummer, let me tell you. I can't figure out if my malaise results simply from the crushing weight of my dead mother, or if I might also actually be physically ill. I suspect the latter, because I have also been having earaches, which require me to drip a concoction of sesame oil and garlic in there. It cures the earache quickly, but it gives me an insatiable craving for teriyaki. I guess I should be grateful it works so well and I haven't had to try the urine cure.

So! Another year down the drain, another birthday in the books. Thank God it only lasted 24 hours this year.