Tuesday 16 February 2016

Adjusting

Hello, thank you for calling in.  It's very cold here now but I guess that's all relative, if I lived in Siberia I may think it positively balmy.  We are not downhearted, oh no, the skies are blue, the sun is shining and I have my vest on and my muffatees so I am just fine.  Snowdrops, daffodils and crocus are all blooming their heads off and I am smiling my thanks right back at them.

I have had a birthday.  I do believe in birthday celebrations, one day of the year to let someone know how loved and special they are, a day to feel like a queen or a king.  Just one day of the year.  In our house, birthdays always begin with a celebratory breakfast, even on a school day; we get up early together and eat warm croissants with butter and jam, cards and gifts are opened and cooed over and the birthday girl or boy then heads off out with a spring in his or her step and a heart full of love.  This year, however, was to be different: for the first time since 1989 I would not be seeing either of my children, so I was feeling a little forlorn.  I needed to plan something different - as a wise woman said to me, it couldn't be the same but it could be just as good.
 
Don't get me wrong, the Best Beloved offered to get up early and heat up croissants, but he leaves home before 7am and I really didn't want to get up that early, so I declined his generous offer.  Instead, I rose at a civilised hour and came downstairs to find a vase full of flowers on the table.  This was a beautiful surprise as frugality has meant no gifts for a couple of years and I really wasn't expecting it.  The kitchen was full of the smell of newly baked bread as the Best Beloved had made a wholemeal loaf in the breadmaker overnight.    I ran a bath full of bubbles, switched on the radio and spent a glorious soak with a large mug of Earl Grey and a book.  Bliss.  I took some congratulatory 'phone calls.  At about 11.30am I cooked myself a rather scrummy brunch: toasted bread, butter, smoked salmon, poached eggs and baby plum tomatoes, a veritable feast, and I sat at the kitchen table and ate it very slowly from one of my best Royal Doulton plates, enjoying every mouthful, while I opened my cards and gifts. 
 
 
 

It was a special treat.  Outside the window, clouds were scudding across the blue sky but the sun was doing its very best to shine behind them.  
 
 
No photoshopping here - the sky was really that blue.
 
A little later, I went to work.  I stopped at the greengrocer's shop on the way and bought bunches of daffodils, tied some ribbons around them and gave them to my colleagues when I got there.  They were a bit perplexed until I explained that it was my birthday, that I had received a lot of happiness and I wanted to spread it around.  They understood.
 
In the evening, the Best Beloved and I went out for a meal, another lovely treat, just the two of us, and when we got home we spoke to The Mathematician on Skype.  It was a strange day, unlike other birthdays I have had, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss our girls, but it was a good day.  Different, but good.  Time is moving on and I am moving with it.
 
See you soon.
 
Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x





20 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday Mrs. Tiggy Winkle!! But where ARE the girls?! I'm glad you made the most of a different birthday for yourself. Your lunch looks yummy, and I'll bet supper was even better! You know how to pamper yourself. I probably would've just walked the dog. My daughter just had her birthday, and we were unable to celebrate on THE day, but visited her in university town a couple of weeks ago and we all went out for a lovely supper together. As you say, it's not the same, but just as good :) Have a fabulous week my friend!!
    Wendy xox

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    1. Thank you Wendy. It was a school day and The Teacher lives about 15 miles away, so she couldn't fit in a visit and The Mathematician is at uni about 60 miles away. We were all together to celebrate her birthday with her three weeks earlier - but she surprised me by coming home to see me at the weekend, so it's all good. x

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  2. Happy B'day Mrs T! Glad you enjoyed your day, it sounds fab! Luckily I've just had a slice of cake to celebrate with you. x

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    1. Thanks Karen. I didn't have cake this year! Shocking, isn't it? Probably the first time ever. x

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  3. Happy Birthday! It does sound different but lovely. It is SO hard adjusting - I am still struggling with it with my second child in final year at uni. Hope the rest of the week continues well for you.

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    1. Thanks Linda. It is hard, isn't it? The rest of the week has been fine. x

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  4. Happy Birthday! Yes they do get different when our children grow up, but they're still special, glad yours was too.

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    1. Thank you Janet. I am glad I'm not the only one who thinks grown-ups should have special birthdays. x

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  5. Happy Birthday! I remember that empty nest feeling....but good things will come! Sounds like you made the very best of your special day - so sweet to hand out daffodils. x Karen

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    1. Thanks Karen. It's reassuring to know that good things will come. x

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  6. What a lovely thought to give daffodils on your birthday. It sounds as if you had a different but enjoyable day. Belated birthday wishes to you:)

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  7. So glad you made the best of things for your birthday, and it looks very enjoyable. Peace and quiet and a special someone can make it all special. Happy Birthday.

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    1. thanks Linda. I think you are right, a special someone makes the difference. x

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  8. Belated happy birthday! I'm glad to hear you still managed to have the loveliest time even when not everyone was around to celebrate with you. Wishing you a healthy, happy, exciting year ahead!

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    1. Thanks Marion. Make the most of your two little lovelies while you can! x

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  9. Happy Birthday!!!! How wonderful that you treated yourself to something lovely to eat and that you treated your colleagues as well, a true kindness!! I hope you have a great year! xx

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    1. Thank you Amy. I am doing my best - onwards and upwards! x

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  10. A happy birthday wish. It sounds like a fabulous day - from start to finish. It is always good when we can move on in happiness as things change. I'm not sure what scrummy means - but I hope it doesn't mean cruddy, or you wouldn't have enjoyed it very much.

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    1. Thanks JoAnn. Scrummy means delicious, definitely not cruddy. x

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