Happy Birthday To Me. Thirty-Two And Alone.

So today is my birthday. I’m 32 years wonderful.

My birthday present from my husband? He left with the children at 5 p.m. on Saturday and will come home with them this morning.

I lived in this home single and childless for two nights.

And lived I did!

I meandered around the movie store. (Seriously. I took like an HOUR in there. As tweet and facebook replies bombarded me with choices, I realized I need a list. And for the next decade, I know what I’m doing on my birthday weekend.)

• Harold & Maude
• Northfork
• Welcome to the dollhouse
• The Box
• memento
• requiem for a dream
• pi
• Mozart and the whale
• The squid and the whale
• Before the devil knows you’re dead.
• City Island
• 500 Days of Summer
• Magnolia
• Running With Scissors
• Tetro
• Ghost World
• Shopgirl
• The Good Girl
• Management
• Up In The Air
• And Scott’s friend’s advice (CLEARLY): forget the weird stuff and watch on memorium to john candy…Uncle Buck, The Great Outdoors and Summer Rental

I chose Up in the Air and Northfork. (Although I was too ambitious and only watched the former. Maybe tonight, for my birthday, I’ll force Scott to watch it. BWAHAHAHA! The giving never ends!)

I went to the hippie grocery store for dinner and bought all my favorite foods (that were available. like no gooey fifteen-cheese pizza or frosting-in-a-can came home with me.):

Salt & Vinegar potato chips, Swedish fish, Potato salad, Salad with feta and slathered with dressing, Spicy Tuna sushi

I chatted with friends, ate breakfast late and ate dinner out. I snuggled with my dog. (I also may have chatted with my dog and snuggled with my friends but for a much briefer time.)

Ratchet also kept me from thinking my house had been invaded. Like in the movies. That I don't watch anymore because my imagination is active enough.

I miss my children. But I keep telling myself to stop. Because I need the space. This time to breath and talk and listen. On my own schedule. No naps to work around. No children to occupy. No husband to trick into changing a diaper.

I miss my husband. But I fight the urge to call every few hours. To bask in the guilt of his work and my play.

I didn’t ruin the gift.

And when my family comes home, I will happily catch them up in my arms.

Until they annoy me. Or I annoy them.

Then I will think back to these thirty-six hours and be grateful for how little I wasted on mommy guilt.

And I will be able to keep my annoyances to myself and be joyfully WIFE!MAMA!

But for now, happy birthday to me.

For a few more hours.

Just me.

PS. For my birthday, BlogHer reposted Why Bother Being A Good Parent At All? If you missed it here, check it out there!

Tagged as: Birthday, Facebook, Friends, Guilt, Movies, Scott, Twitter