Cumpleanos

My birthday isn't until the 16th but I've already been celebrated so much that I feel like a kid in a candy store who has gotten everything she wanted . . .it's really, really feeling good to turn 33-- so far.

Leeor took me on the most wonderful date last night. It was a surprise and he kept stringing me along by pretending he really hadn't planned much. I am so controlling and difficult to surprise. Alas, it was such a great night. My mom came to watch Avi. He eased my anxiety about not putting him down by skipping his nap and turning in around 5pm. Analyze that.

We went to dinner at Le Colonial, this French Vietnamese place that has such great food and cocktails. I had something called the Gigi--vodka, elderflower, a touch of rose (maybe something else--who cares? it was delish!) and convinced Leeor we should share the 2 lb lobster though neither of us really knew how to bust it open and eat it. We managed; it was really, really good.

I started to suspect we had theater tickets A. because we were in that part of town and B. Leeor, never one to check the time, kept checking. I could only hope. Spring Awakening was in its last weekend at the Curran Theatre. Guess what we did after dinner??

I was ecstatic. Many of the original Broadway leads reprised their roles in the traveling show. They were amazing. An interesting side note is that Leeor played Melchior in the play when he was all of 16 and doing a summer program at UCLA. As the cast was so young, I found myself thinking of Avi throughout the show and wondering what kind of teen he will become . . .I digress, but it was such a great show. I could tell the cast was really pumped for their last Saturday night in San Francisco. It felt so good to see a show of that caliber--it was the perfect birthday present for me.

Icing on the pre-birthday cake was our trip to Apple Hill today with my mom and the McFarlands. I spent my childhood visiting this place every fall; we'd get apples and pumpkins, eat all kinds of apple fare and then my mom would go on a baking spree when we got home. This place has a lot of history for me. There are photos of me as a 4 year old, fishing in a trout stream at one of the farms, up til me as a tween posing in the pumpkin patch. It was really sweet to bring my little one up there, and to share it with such dear friends as Mollie, Andrew and Declan. They were so game; it was a long drive and the place has become packed with people but the McFarlands are a fun-loving family of 3 and they were up for whatever. Mollie and I even unknowingly dressed alike; which made me feel cool as she is quite the fashionista. Speaking of history; in the last post I talked about dancing with Nicole; I met Mollie my freshman year at Santa Clara. She was the rock star of the dance department. I even got to be in one of her senior recital pieces. And here we are, sharing our lives and wearing matching ensembles at Apple Hill. I'm so glad.

Maybe I'm in denial about going to work tomorrow; Leeor went to the Castro Theatre tonight to catch The Bridge on the River Kwai (that movie is long, and not my cup of tea but I'm happy for him) while I stayed home and made butternut squash and white bean soup. I'm taking Thursday off so it's a 3 day week for me. I'm so glad. All I care about right now is my family and this lovely little life we are carving out for ourselves.

My birthday is giving me an opportunity to check in with myself, my identity, my evolution. It's not easy, but on a weekend like this one, where there is so much joy to experience and share, I care less about arriving at some destination for myself and just feel pleased to eat good food, relish good art and be with dear friends and family.