Remembering memorable times

The ice breaker question on my lanyard, which we are to wear during this 30 Day Challenge, is for the person to tell me about a time in the life… specifically, their favorite birthday. Only a couple of people have asked about the lanyard, my supervisor said his 50^th was his favorite because he went on a cruise to celebrate. Another coworker said she had no favorite birthday. I thought everyone should have at least one memorable birthday. I love celebrating birthdays and I try hard not to work on mine. I don’t just celebrate the day, but also the whole month! So here are a few memorable ones.

For my 15^th birthday we celebrated with a quinceañera. It’s a Mexican tradition which marks a girl’s passage to womanhood. It’s a religious and social event which emphasizes family and society. It begins with a mass, then a reception and dance. The day was a lot of fun, but what sticks in my mind the most, happened the night before, when my mom was making the beans. It became a scene from the I Love Lucy show. Remember the episode when Ricky is making rice? He decides on a cup of uncooked rice per person. Well, you know what happens when rice cooks, it expands. He had rice pouring out of the pot. My mom’s beans decided to do the same thing. She had never cooked for so many people, so she ended up putting in too many beans and out they started pouring. We started getting other pots and bowls to put move the beans into, but they kept coming out of the pot. It was hilarious and my mom, brother and I were all laughing so hard while trying to save the beans. We did a good job of it. We had enough for the event. I’m crying from laughing so much at the memory of it.

For my 25th, my mom bought tickets to see Michael Crawford. For those who are not familiar with the name, he is a British actor/singer who originated the role of the Phantom in the musical Phantom of the Opera. He was touring with the Music of Andrew Lloyd Weber and would be in San Francisco during my birthday. I had seen him in Los Angeles with Phantom and became a fan. I wrote him a letter to see if I could meet him for my birthday. To my surprise, his assisted called me the day before the concert and invited to go backstage after the show to meet Michael. Wow! Of course, it had to be a stormy day, with rain, thunder, and lightning, when we made the two hour drive to the theater, but the show was great. Afterwards, we made our way to the backstage door, and yes I was on the list. We were escorted to his dressing room door, and waited for him to come out. I was surprised my mom and I were the only ones waiting for him. I thought I would have been part of a group of people to do a meet and greet. Michael was very hospitable, inviting us in to his dressing room where we talked for 20 minutes. We talked about Phantom, the current tour, even the possibility of him in the movie version of Phantom. He said there had been talk of a movie, but nothing was set and he might be too old for the role by the time anything came to fruition. He was right; the role went to Gerard Butler. He was so sweet and funny, very generous with his time.

For my 40^th, I was living in Oregon. I returned to my hometown of Salinas, to have a 50s style birthday party at my aunt’s house. Family and friends gathered in her backyard. We all got dressed up and even the weather cooperated. In another blog, I mentioned my birthday is in March, so you just never know if it will be cold or rainy, but we lucked out and the sun gave us a great day. My brother was at an event about 3 ½ hours from Salinas, but he made the 7 hour round trip drive to come join us for some of the fun.

I always try to take time to celebrate my birthday. They are not always extravagant, but I try to make them memorable.