Every year on my birthday I tell myself to keep it small. A very small celebration with just a handful of friends. A super low-key dinner with just a bit of alcohol and an early bedtime. But it always seems to turn out a little differently, and always a lot more fun than I expected. Yesterday was no exception.
I spent the afternoon with a good friend who is one of those people you know you were destined to meet. Out of the many, probably hundreds or thousands of people you come across in your life, there are some that you are inexplicably drawn to. And that energy can also feel almost familiar, as if you’ve somehow met and known this person before. Kim is one of those soul-friends. Even when we don’t hang out all the time, we always manage to get together and be there for each other on special occasions. Every so often we have “catch-up” days which usually involve food, wine, and the best conversations. She’s one of the few people I can talk to about ghosts, past lives, and the magic in the universe and not feel totally insane.
In the evening we headed to Sangsu to eat, drink, and create some merriment with some of my other soul-friends.
It’s funny, I always feel a little melancholy in the days leading up to my birthday. The sadness gets so bad sometimes that I have a thought to just cancel any birthday plans I’ve made altogether. There’s always a part of me that doesn’t want to face the reality of age. A part of me would rather sit at home in bed, with a bucket of fried chicken and Netflix, and just forget. As if some fried chicken and a movie could somehow stop the passage of time. But I’m always glad that I didn’t because I end up having a spectacular time with people I absolutely adore. And isn’t that the point? To celebrate all that’s important to you. To celebrate the choices you’ve made that have led you here, to all these wonderful humans.
My heart feels open.
