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Started the day a bit teary when my mom called from her trip in Europe to wish me a happy birthday and ask what I had planned. I could hear her disappointment that I had nothing special on the docket.
Received some nice messages from friends, including a harmonized song from The Best Friend Family.
Was treated to a nice "Happy Birthday" song from the work-family and a very cute Minnie Mouse card, where lovely things were written down.
Had a fairly breezy day at work until I had to perform a humane euthanasia on a young dog who presented as non-responsive.
C'est la vie.
How cute is that? Apparently semi-namesake wanted to keep the sponge - because she has good taste - but surrendered it when she heard it was meant for me. What a kid!
Just one of those days where I'm grateful for the people in my life!
She was interested enough to ask me to pick her up at one point though, which was apparently a Big Deal since she only ever asks her parents to do so. These little moments of endearment are very sweet, but we all agree that for all her cuteness she remains a very effective vortex for sapping the energy out of three grown adults. We spent the rest of the day driving around the city to pick up food while she napped in the car, and then watched Disney's Frozen because we were all too tired to do anything else and TV is a very effective babysitter.
I am going to miss "Best Friend Family" when they leave tomorrow though, and I'm sad at the idea of not seeing them again until next year. I feel like every time I get to see the semi-namesake, I brace myself for her not being comfortable around me because these visits are so infrequent. (Obviously, the same concern does not extend to her parents!) I may have to try and head out for a visit at some point because I very much want them to be a part of my life, and vice versa.
The flower girl from my best friend's wedding is old enough to be embarking on college tours.
Lord, I am old.
Just when I thought I was going to make it out unscathed, I came across this:
This is basically a summary of me in one sticker sheet, although my enjoyment of warm drinks (like the pictured teacup and teapots) is still very much in its lukewarm infancy. I always joke that in being a shy introvert, I have the worst combination of traits when it comes to trying new things or meeting new people, and that remains true. But I have always accepted my introvert ways, and even if my job has forced me to make a decent impression of being an extrovert, I suspect that even now I would still score very high on the introvert scale. It's also one of the reasons I think I may be a "cat lady" for life - I am so used to and comfortable with being alone, and there's a certain kind of freedom that comes with being single and only doing what you want to do when you want to do it. I sometimes wonder if I can ever be unselfish enough to give that kind of independence up, even if I could find someone who was remotely interested in me.
I guess we can say that it's to our credit that we stay up to socialize when we are this tired. And this is likely the only time we'll get to see each other this year, which is a big part of it. I truly do miss having them in my life in the immediate kind of way that we used to have. It's never the same when you can't just drive over at a moment's notice. But I'm lucky that they make that effort to keep in touch and keep me involved in their lives, because I have always been uniformly terrible about keeping in touch with people. Sure, I can probably chalk some of it up to laziness, but a lot of it is that I really think that people are busy enough and do not necessarily have time for me. But these friends have always gone out of their way to show that they will make time for me. And they have told me they consider me family and made my name a part of their daughter's. It really means the world to me.
It is always interesting to me just how much the same my friends still are in many ways, while being very much parents in others. I guess I always wonder if I would sacrifice/lose a part of myself if I became a parent, not that I am in any danger of that happening. Thoughts for another day when my brain is not totally fried.
I am really getting sick of being sick! (Ba-dum-cha!) I guess a part of me is used to my immune system usually being able to bounce back after a few days. It's been a long time since I've been sick for over a week, and I really would like to not make myself and my co-workers miserable next week. Also, I've likely passed on my virus to most of them by now, which is always the bummer about going to work not 100% healthy (or just straight-up sick, in my case). It's a bit of a lose-lose situation.
More lounging around today, with not much accomplished. I've dumped Kira at my parents so I can concentrate on laundry and a lazy clean-up/sorting session prior to the cleaner arriving tomorrow, and then I'll join her there for the next two weeks while my friends take up residence here! I know their daughter (my semi-namesake, as I call her) will likely want to see me, but given where my immune system is at, I probably will have to hold off. Which is a bit of a bummer, because I don't get to see her often. There is no part that is fun about living across the country from your best friend, but not getting to be a regular presence in their lives as my semi-namesake grows up is definitely a big one.
