Ever since I was a little girl, and can remember I have always hated my birthday coming around. Growing up we moved around a lot, I went to 13 different schools in 12 years of schooling. High school was the only school where I went the entire 4 years, all but moving away the last 12 weeks to get married to the girls’ father.

Every 3 to 4 years it was always time for my dad to get transferred. No I wasn’t a “military brat”, but it was just as bad as being one. By the second week of July my dad would come home, and tell us where we were going next. By time my birthday rolled around, we were packing, and the movers would come, packing it all in a huge truck. Then before school started it was unpacking time, getting ready for the life we would live in the next town, and getting ready for the next school we had to attend.

I do have to say that it did however become very easy to make friends, I guess you learn to change, and adapt to your surroundings, you learn to be pleasant in order to fit in to the new place. Of course being the new kids in school it was never fun, we always got the hell, and were bullied. My oldest blood brother was 14 months older than I was, I remember he got into a lot of fights over his little sister. Up until the time he taught me how to fight my own battles, then it was me in the principal’s office instead of him, for beating up some boy, or some huge bully girl who thought they could push me around.

If we weren’t moving we were spending the whole summer with our family in Missouri. Which were the best times of my life, spending time with my grandparents on my mother's side. My brothers mostly hung out at my grandparents on my dad’s side, because there were boys their ages, and I was the only girl that age. My girl cousins on that side, were already in high school, they didn’t want to waste time on a little punk like me. On my mother’s side there were more girls than boys, and I was the second oldest girl. 17 grandchildren and only 5 boys, so that side of the family was funnier for me to hang out with in the summer time.

With dad being gone traveling all the time, and my mother in, well basically not the best shape to handle children 24 hours a day, while school was out. We spent summers away, at our grandparents. But like I said I think those were the best times of my childhood, they were what kept me going and made me into the strong person I am today. Personally I still to this day think that, the opportunity that I had to build a long, loving relationship with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, saved my life through all that I went through. They taught me to always have hope, and keep the faith, that things will be okay, most of all there, I always knew I was loved.

Okay, so I hated the time when my birthday would come around. I never had a birthday party with friends from school. Well I had parties at my grandparent’s houses, and at home with the families my dad worked with. Not until I was 16, did I have a party with friends from school. Then it was just going to be a couple of my friends from school, going out for pizza to celebrate. It was going to be fun, and I couldn’t wait until that day. It all went bad, when I got home from school, found my mom drunk. Which meant I would have to take care of my little brother, he was 5 years younger then I was. I decided that this wasn’t going to ruin my birthday.  I told my little brother to get cleaned up, and not to dress like a dork. I took him with me, to meet all my friends for pizza. The night actually turned out great, my little brother entertained us all with his funny ways. I always thought he should have been a comedian. He could always make us girls laugh our asses off, until we were about to pee our pants.

Then when I turned 18, my parents had a huge party for me. Damn I think the whole town was there, at least all the kids from school were there. Oh! and it was a party, keg, and liquor all included. Hey, we lived in the part of America where all they thought about was parties, Wisconsin, and Illinois, it was all those German, and Irish, people up there. I remember there was one rule, everyone's keys went into this huge jar, until the next day. There was people pass out everywhere, but fun was had by all.

The next night, my brother’s girl friend, whose's birthday was the exact day, and year as mine, she took me bar hopping in Beloit Wisconsin. We were having a blast, until my oldest brother found us. Then he threw a fit, and made her take me home. Only problem was that, we had left the car keys in the car, with the car running, this was my mustang we were driving. So we had to call my dad, he had to come, and get us, needless to say he was so pissed off. I honestly think that he thought it was funny, and that he was more worried about dealing with my mother over all of this.

At 19, and 20, I was married, pregnant, and in a horrible relationship, birthday weren’t a good thing those years. By time I turned 21, I was out to have fun with my best friend Sue (we will call her), she wasn’t old enough to drink. We were cruising around, and decided that we were going to have fun that night. I had stopped by a liquor store, to buy my first 12 pack of beer. Some dude standing in line behind me, over heard the clerk, tell me “Happy Birthday”, when he checked my Id, and he paid for the beer. Damn it! I wanted to pay for my first 12 pack, being legal. But hey, you can’t turn down someone buying you drinks. The two of us went to a party that night, then ended up sitting in a cemetery, smoke a joint, getting freaked out on the noises, and shadows we seen, laughing our asses off, but a good time it was.

After that it was one bad relationship after another. When you are in a bad relationship your birthday never counts. Mostly because they are too selfish to let someone else have their day. Most of the time it was my girls, and I having, cake and ice cream, by ourselves. Up until I was 40 years old. Now! That is a birthday I will never forget. My girls, my dad, and my step mom, decorated my garage doors, outside my place, in the road, my car. The whole route to my work, which was in the same town, was all decorated with balloons, signs. Even the parking lot at my work, and my office was decorated.  I worked  at huge plumbing supply house, thousands of plumbers, contractors, and you name it, came in there. Now if anyone didn’t know my age, they did that day.

I remember stopping at the traffic lights in front of McDonalds, seeing a bunch of signs, some even saying my full name. That night after everyone got off work, we met at one of the sports bars in town. Fun was had by all. I have to add that the asshole I was with, kept trying his hardest to ruin the night for me, by sitting next to me, whispering horrible things in my ear. After we had left the sports bar, the two of us got into a fight, I told him to take me home, which he didn’t, so I walked home. Then when I got home, my girls, and a couple of their friends were there, and we had a blast.

2007 a good friend of one of my daughter’s, one little girl I gave a home too, and she always knew I was there for her. She had a BBQ dinner out at my house for me, then after the dinner we went bar hopping. We had a great time. I do have to say that she got upset, because I got carded, and she didn’t, she was 20 some years younger then me.

2008 one of the best things anyone has ever done for me. My best friend called me on my birthday. She asked me what I was doing. I told her I was just sitting watching TV, and that was all I had planned to do all night long. I remember, she told me that she was going to drive up, and take me to dinner. I told her no she wasn’t going to drive up to just take me to dinner. She told me, “Okay, Then I will just leave you birthday present at your daughter’s house then.”
I said, “Okay, Fine, have it your way, and get up here.”

Her daughter, and her drove up 5 hours, to take me to dinner on my birthday, and give me the best present anyone has ever given me. She gave me a laptop. It isn’t just the laptop that she gave me, it is the gift of what it that laptop has given me for this whole year. I have written so much with that laptop, some I have posted here on OS, and some I just have stored, I have almost written my whole life story. It isn’t just the gift of that one day, but the inspiration, and the continuing gift that it keeps giving to me. I have typed so much on that laptop, in the last year, that I have wore out the keys, really I have wore out the keys. I have told so many stories, and I have read so many wonderful stories, that take my breath away, and leave me speechless. The gift that kept, and still keeps on giving. The appreciation of such a gift, I could never repay, or even try, because it isn’t just the laptop, it is the life that it created, it has brought out a side of me I never knew was there. It has also help me meet some of the greatest people in the world, here on OS. The gift she gave me is priceless. I could never repay her for the world she has given me. I love her with all my heart, and she means the world to me.

Okay so “It is just another day”. We turn one year older. We might stop for a moment, and think about what the last year has been like, and maybe if we look hard enough, we might think about what we can change for the next year. All the same though, “It is just another day”. Just like any other day, you put on a smile, and act like nothing is wrong, and that you are happy.  We can make promises to change whatever we want to change, that makes us unhappy, but just like our promises on New Years, they more then likely won’t be met, or hold anything worth of mentioning.

It's just another day...