My Birthday, MY RULES!

Did someone pass a law saying that birthday celebrations are only for children? Some folks seem to have that feeling when it comes to their own birthdays, and the excuses are endless. "I'm too old for that silliness", "birthday parties are a waste of time", "I don't have any reason to celebrate." What a shame. Why not take advantage of a great opportunity? Your birthday comes only once a year and it is the perfect time to do whatever you want. If it isn't the case right now, there's no reason you can't rearrange things a little bit for one day to take time out for yourself. Today is my birthday, which means whatever I say goes. In other words, my birthday, my rules.



You Gotta Have Cake



What's a great birthday without your own special cake, made the way you want it? You have the choice to make it at home, or buy it at your favorite bakery or grocery store. For the last few years, I've done the baking myself. Mostly because I love cake batter as much as the finished product and you simply can't eat batter when you buy a cake at the store. The workers get it all. This year, it's going to be chocolate cake with butter cream frosting. Yum.

The cake has already been baked and is now cooling in the pan. When it's ready, I'll add plenty of frosting and possibly some sprinkles. I haven't made the final decision on decorating yet. Then I'll slide it into the refrigerator to await my son's arrival home from school. I did promise him that we'd do the lighting the candles thing together before cutting and eating the first piece.



Shameless Self Indulgence



There are those who really frown on the idea of indulging oneself in any way. Let ‘em squawk. My birthday, my rules, remember? When it's your special day, it's your time for shameless self indulgence. You've earned the privilege, now go for it. Since it will be a few hours until school gets out, I'll spend some time reading one or two of the books that have been piling up on my "to be read" list this week. I haven't decided whether it will be one of the novels I picked up at the library last week, or the non-fiction books that I bought. Of course, it's my birthday. I can read both, just not at the same time. One hour for the novel and one for the non-fiction will do quite nicely. I'll be ready for something else after that. Planning what to do for dinner would be good.

Since this is a no-housework day, my son and I will be having dinner at either Applebee's or Uno's. It's a tough decision to make since both of them have excellent dessert menus, but I'll struggle through the process somehow. It's also a matter of deciding whether I want a nice big steak or will I go for something different. If I really can't make up my mind, my son can help me decide. Sometimes, his choice can be better than mine and as I like both restaurants, it's a win-win situation either way.

Now that you know how I'll be celebrating my birthday, maybe you'll have some ideas for yours. No matter whether your birthday is this week or next month, make it an occasion to remember. There are no fixed rules, other than the ones you decide. There are many days when other people make the rules for you. On your birthday, you get to make your own.