A week ago today I turned 25.
I woke up to a phone call from a good friend motivating me to make the best of a difficult career related decision, a couple of voicemails and a few Facebook posts.
I showered, took a few selfies and head out to work early because I knew I would be taking the next few days off. Instead of going straight to work I hit Party City & bought myself a “Create your own Age” Happy Birthday pin, because apparently turning 25 isn’t a very marketable milestone. Then I treated myself to Chick-fil-A for breakfast. It was raining so these two stops took about 45 minutes away from my “getting to work early”. I didn’t care though, because despite having a nose dripping like a leaky faucet the entire day before; it was my birthday and I felt renewed!
Step Dad #1 called me to say Happy Birthday and remind me he loves me while I was in the Chick-Fil-A drive thru.
I worked 12 hours that day so by the time I got home it was less than 10 minutes til midnight and all I could think was “One out of three ain’t so bad.”
For the second year in a row I felt forgotten by my fathers on my birthday.
Last year, I spent my birthday riding with my mom and my youngest sister back to their home from grandparents home in all the post Thanksgiving traffic. Step Dad #1 called my mother about something, and when she asked if I had spoken to him already, we realized he had forgotten. I got the apologetic text after my mother said something to him, but it wasn’t the same as being remembered.
Same thing happened with my sister’s dad, the baby boss fussed him out something terrible for forgetting, then came the false enthusiastic Happy Birthday phone call. This year I didn’t hear from him until the third; his mother’s birthday, which was probably his only realization that he had forgotten.
Funny thing is, Buddha is the only one didn’t reach out on the day of or the days following. I did unexpectedly hear from him days before.
My aunt called me on Thanksgiving with Buddha on 3-way. I said “Hello”, and responded as coolly as possible to his inquiries about my whereabouts and well-being, but then I redirected my attention back to my aunt. And without much to contribute to the conversation, I guess he just hung up.
I never know how to feel about Buddha, I can’t decide If I want him to try harder or to quit trying altogether.
I’m the same way with communicating with men in relationships or men who are interested in me. Try harder or leave me alone.
I had a wonderful 25th birthday. My work day went smoothly, I won concert tickets on the radio for floor seats to see Jill Scott!!!! I took a few days off to rest and visit Philly with friends, but I couldn’t help feeling forgotten again.