A Real Birthday

Well, what a difference from last year!

A friend of my mother's took us out to lunch (how different he is from, um, "clueless"; he inherited some money and said he feels he should use it to treat friends) and we had a lovely time.

And on the way home my partner bought me a big bouquet of red roses.  That was in addition to the dress she bought, which I wore, and which she liked seeing me in.

And the two women whose birthday cards came back to them in the mail last year each sent me one, and one also sent a check, which she said could be for me and my partner to have a nice meal out.

LC, the woman who said she never wanted me to contact her again, sent me a bouquet of artificial flowers.  I was totally surprised.  She had said (when we were still speaking) that she was going to send me a bouquet for my birthday, but I had assumed she had become so "allergic" to me that she had totally cut me off.  The flowers are beautiful.  I don't care that they are not real.  The note that came with them was telling, though.  It began "BabyD" and ended "LC".  No "dear" preceding my name and no "love" preceding hers.  But I am  happy she sent them.  I don't care why she did.  In fact, one of the "discussions" she and I had once was about whether it's a positive or a negative if someone does something because they think they "should".  She thought it was a negative (we were talking about office birthday lunches, and coworkers getting together and sending sympathy cards).  I said it was a positive.  Even going to the trouble of doing something you think you "should" is considerate.  Far too few people these days even do that.

In any event, I wrote back to LC saying that I had no idea what I had said or done that was so egregious that she enjoined me from communicating with her, but that whatever it was, I'm sorry.  I mean I'm not sorry if she doesn't want me communicating with her because I am more concerned with my own problems than with national tragedies.  There's nothing I can do about the big national tragedies, so what I do or don't feel versus what she does or doesn't feel is not relevant.

I did delete the blog post in which I said I hated her.  I don't really.  Hate is a strong word.  I just think she's a hypocrite and very selfish.  Also her level of lability (not in the sense of pathological mood lability but in the sense of being passionate about something one minute and wanting it out of your life the next) is not the behavior of a rational adult that I should have been trusting with personal confidences.

And "clueless" sent me a birthday card.  I thanked her for it.  I still think someone as rich as she is could make a better showing, but that's why I don't care if she's in my life or not.  I refrained from saying anything angry to her; I simply said that I was putting on a recital to celebrate my birthday because I was heartbroken that I had no celebration on a milestone birthday when so many people are given the party, the trip, or the present of a lifetime, so I was putting on a recital.  I told her I had been planning it for a year (true).

Now for the most important news: I did a little practicing and it basically went well.  The Handel is still difficult, and after singing it in church (either once or twice) next month I will probably retire it.

It looks like a friend will make a video with her iPad and upload it to Youtube to post on Facebook.

That's really all I want for my birthday.  Something to kvell over.