On December 12, 1979, at 6:03 am, I made my way through the birth canal and into the light. It's my belief that when people say "Go into the light" when a person is dying, that the person is simply being born into another life. You leave the dark confines of the womb and glide into the light of a brightly lit hospital room and new life. But I digress. Bald, weighing eight pounds, and screaming at the top of my lungs, I realized that even as a newborn I needed to be heard.
My first gift to myself was to sleep until noon. I even let my alarm clock go off at its scheduled time of 7:30 just to rub it in that I'm sleeping in late.
As soon as I got up, my phone rang -- it was Paula. "Zaftig, I know you're off, but [big client] is here and he wants to meet everyone on the project team. Can you be here by 1:30?"
"Sure," I said, sounding overly chirpy. A long time ago, I learned that only you can ruin your special occasions. If you allow things to upset you then it's your fault the day is ruined. So I was going to work on my birthday. It's just work, a place I enjoy 90% of the time.
A quick shower, spritz of perfume, and a pair of knee high boots, and I was ready to hit the road. I had a feeling while I was driving to work that I was being set up. What am I walking into? I thought. What I walked into was a surprise gathering in the south conference room. There was a small cake with strawberry filling, several gifts, and...Steven. After everyone sang Happy Birthday and I blew out the one candle, I pulled Steven aside and said, "You were behind this, weren't you?" He admitted it by smiling widely. "I thought you were going to New York?"
"Tomorrow," he said. "I wouldn't miss this sappy shit for the world."
I appreciated the gesture, really I did, but I couldn't wait to get the hell out of there and back to my apartment. Before I left, Steven asked, "Let me give you a real present." I agreed and told him to call me around 10 pm.
When I returned home, Jan, Diana, and Viv left messages ranging from "Where the hell are you?"(Jan), "Tell me you're not working today?" (Viv), and "You know you've lived more than a quarter of a century, don't you?" (Diana). I called them all back and they decided we will go out for a Chinese dinner and then head back to Viv's for music, wine, and celebration. What great friends I have.
I love my life.
But the biggest gift I received was when I got back home from the office party and found Aunt Flo waiting for me. Someone's not going to be happy you're here. But I'm EXTREMELY happy she's here. She's the world's greatest aunt.