Yesterday was my nineteenth birthday, and I'd be lying if I said it went as planned. What was supposed to be a weekend of partying and reuniting with friends turned into a weekend of me, on the living room couch, with a fever and a massive headache. Luckily, the worst of it was on Saturday. My temperature was up to 102.2 and my swollen throat made eating difficult. Yesterday was not a walk in the park health-wise either, but my birthday was actually really great. My birthdays are always kind of "meh" and not very memorable, but for this one, I was surrounded by my immediate family and my two most important friends: Cathy and my boyfriend, Jesse. THEY FINALLY MET! I really couldn't have asked for a better present than that.
On Saturday, though I was scheduled to have my first "actual" birthday party with my friends from college (some of whom I haven't seen in a month), I got to watch movies all day. Even in my sickness, I was able to enjoy the flawless Slumdog Millionaire, the classic The Truman Show for the first time, and the fascinating Life of Pi (though the ending's remark on the truth of Pi's story made me quite sad, to be honest). The best part was that my boyfriend came to visit me despite my infectious state of being. It was funny, because that morning I had been thinking "I hope my friends still have the party for themselves, but wouldn't it be romantic if Jesse came to visit me instead?" Just a passing thought. But he texted me, asking if it was okay if he dropped by later to drop a few things off.
That evening, he showed up with a giant raspberry-colored body pillow from Costco in hand, a little red bag hung on his finger, and a bouquet of the most gorgeous flowers, in red tissue wrapping, hugged to his chest. It was one of the most romantic things of my life, and that's not even the full story. But just the fact that everything was red, my favorite color, and the fact that he was standing in front of me when he really didn't have to be, was enough to make me feel 3432507032% better.
My mother graciously put the flowers into a vase while Jesse and I sat down on the couch. I read the card he bought and wrote out for me. Something about the phrase "I'm so damn in love with you" pretty much made me fall in love all over again. As we all know, words are very special and important for me. Well thought-out, effortful cards are the best part of any gift. But Jesse went above and fucking beyond. I can't.
I unraveled this adorable little red present to discover something he described as "small." But it wasn't in the slightest! He even confessed to me that it took him eleven hours, meaning that he'd stayed up until 10AM that morning working on it. Jesse took a deck of cards and glued pictures of us, the places we've been, and my college adventures onto the back of each individual card. Plus a few gems, like Jesse in his awkward high school stage and a card dedicated to Ryan Gosling. They were all printed on photo paper and cut to the exact size. Okay I'm sorry if this post is too gross and cheesy for you, but I started crying because that kind of effort is the kind that only I put into gifts. When I was younger, I would always take useless things and make them super personal. One time I took a checkerboard and glued pictures of my friend all over it. Another time I made Cathy a house of popsicle sticks and glued pictures of us on it. They were never practical, but they were made with love. I don't know. More than anything, I started crying because Jesse put so much effort into something for me.
Jesse and I spent the next few hours looking up remixes and scenes from The Graduate on YouTube. Eventually, it ended with me snuggled up with the body pillow he gave me, and him rubbing my head and neck to make me feel better. It was utterly perfect.
The next morning, he even got up early to finish his Physics homework so he could swing by and visit me again on Sunday night for my actual birthday. Plus, he arrived fifteen minutes after the other brilliant surprise of my birthday: Cathy surprised me after her shift at work to drop off soup her mother made me, and flowers! Flowers which she bought at Trader Joe's because she was low on options and is a perfect friend. And the way she told me was by calling me and being all, "Hey, are you home? Maybe you should go outside, I mean, I don't know...?" And then I look out my door and she's swerving into my neighborhood track, a beautiful display of the struggle in multi-tasking, only to park in the most adorably crooked way right in front of my driveway. She was only going to drop off the flowers, but she ended up staying the whole evening. which resulted in my two best friends finally meeting!! :) I can't believe how lucky I am.
It turned into a great birthday evening of Cathy and my mother singing and dancing to 70s and 80s music videos, impressions of 90s singers, cake, and hysterical laughter. And of course, after five years of waiting, finally listening to Nineteen by Tegan and Sara while being the age of nineteen. I'm so happy that Cathy and Jesse like each other, and that my parents love Cathy more than ever haha. And because I was sick, I was not allowed to blow out the candles, so I was given a spatula to fan out the fire. I got so many heartfelt birthday texts from my friends. The amount of loving people that have come into my life over this past year has been unbelievable. Overall, it was a mismatch birthday that turned into something memorable.
♥ Happy Living ♥
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