Birthday Greetings

It is 1 a.m. and has officially been my birthday for about an hour now. In that hour I have received many a birthday greeting.

I’ve just opened three different e-cards (“When you care, but not enough to waste a stamp”). The e-cards entertain me so. They have dancing, singing, high kicks and great background music. And they always feature animals performing. I seriously can’t get enough of talking (or singing) animals. I don’t know why, it’s just my thing. AFLAC commercials? Crack. Me. Up. The Foster Farms chickens? Love them. I think we all know that I’m a simple girl. So the three cards I’ve just watched included two monkeys who alarmingly knew and sang my name, two cats who not only enjoy a martini, but also seem to have tremendous dexterity with their paws, and a duck and chick who enjoy shopping, and of course singing and dancing. Good times.

Then I received yet another e-mail from another friend saying that their birthday reminder reminded them that it was my birthday. And that I’m turning 45. Ah, I crack myself up. Every time I sign up for one of those reminder things I always put in a random year of birth. I’ve been congratulated on my 65, 82, 42, 53 and 10th birthdays this week. It’s a big week.

And finally I received my first singing of Happy Birthday on my voice mail. Every year it becomes painfully obvious how few people I know who can actually sing. The friend who called me at midnight also called me last year at midnight, although last year it went a little differently. My message last year was of her and several other people in a bar singing happy birthday to me (even though most of them mumbled through my name). Then the next day she called me:

“I am a horrible friend. I was out last night and I kept reminding myself that I had to call you at midnight, because it was your birthday. I kept looking at my watch and telling everyone that we had to call you at midnight for your birthday. But then I got way too drunk and totally forgot about it. I’m a horrible friend.”

“Uh, actually I got a message from you. A singing message. From you and what sounded like several other drunk people.”

“You did?”

“You don’t remember?”

“The evening has some unclear points, yes.”

“Well, you called. Right around midnight too.”

“I am a great friend!”

“You really are.”

“Oh god, I wonder who else I called.”

Sure they can’t sing, but my friends never fail to entertain...