Happy birthday to me!

Yesterday was my birthday… I’m officially 37 years old.

Mike had to leave at the crack of dawn so was gone when I got up.

I woke to snuggles from Michaela and an urgent request that I go out to the dining room for a surprise. When I got there, there were a couple of wrapped presents and a card. Michaela was excited about the card, which was the same one she got me last year (“I knew you liked it last year, so I got it for you this year, too!”). The gifts were a necklace (“I picked it out for you myself because I know your favorite color is blue!”) and the board game Mancala (“I learned how to play at [my after school program] and it’s really fun! We can play together!”). It was great.

I headed to work and was surprised to find that my team had gone all out. They put up a happy birthday banner and decorated my office; made beautiful, gorgeous cupcakes; decorated our office mascot; got me flowers and a card and my favorite drink from Starbucks. They made me feel very loved! I try to be a good supervisor and mentor, and things like that make me feel like maybe I’m not doing such an awful job at it.

I had to leave work early to pick up Michaela from school. She went to my parents’ while I ran some errands before Mike and I met for dinner. We had a light, leisurely meal and then headed to a Rob Thomas and Counting Crows concert.

It was a beautiful night to be at an outdoor venue for a concert. The bands sounded great and played a lot of favorites.

Not a bad way to start a new year!