Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Happy Birthday to Me


Friday was my birthday. I'm not good at birthdays. Getting older doesn't bothers me. It's more about expectations and leftover childhood resentments. And, it feels like pressure. Pressure to be joyous, to feel loved, and to be entertained.

As a child, I only remember one birthday party. I was turning twelve (?). It was a sleepover birthday party and my mother made me a fabulous butterfly birthday cake.


For my thirteenth birthday my father bought me a baby blue princess phone. The following day my mother cut the cord after I was caught shoplifting at a local department store. I was grounded and spent the weekend smoking lemon cigarettes out my bedroom window.

That bust put a fear in me so deep that, till this day, I can't sample a grape in a grocery store, and I often think merchants are thinking I'm thinking of steeling something. Which I swear to you, I am NOT!

I don't like the birthday spotlight. I know you don't believe me, but I don't. Because when its on, I have to perform. I'm not good at remembering my lines or acting buoyant or gracious. I'm more of a spontaneous kind of monkey.

And, I suck at receiving gifts. It doesn't matter if I like it or not. I'd rather NOT get a gift but then, when I don't get any gifts, I am disappointed.

My favorite gift, hands down, was a personalized, green tackle box with "SHANNON E. KENNEDY" inscribed on a small brass plate - perfectly centered on the lid. It was a gift from my boyfriend, now husband, during our first year of dating. We both enjoyed fishing. That box told me we'd be spending more time together. After all, you wouldn't give a women a tackle box and expect her to fish alone, right?

My second favorite gift came the following year. It was also from my boyfriend, now husband. It was a basket of fruit. Nothing says I love you like a basket of fruit, right? Who gives someone they HOPE loves them a basket of fruit for their birthday?

When I asked my boyfriend, now husband, why fruit, he said he thought I liked fruit. Years later he confessed that he was out of ideas. Many, many years later he confessed that he felt pressure to get the perfect gift and choked.

The reason the tackle box and the fruit are my two favorite gifts is because they turned into stories that I have told over and over again. And today, I am writing about them.

This year, I wanted to keep my birthday simple and do what makes me happy. For me, that meant writing and running. Running is not a good idea at this stage of my recovering so I was content to walk 3 miles. And yes, blogging does count as writing (at least it does to me).

This blogging and walking strategy was due to take place first thing Friday morning, but I got a call from a client and I needed to leave the house quickly, without a shower.

I spent the next 4 1/2 hours semi-stressed, in the sun, trying to make someone happy. I was miserable.

I arrived home exhausted. All I wanted to do was take a nap.

I discovered an orange bicycle perched in my kitchen - a gift from my then boyfriend, now husband.

It's lovely, but I'm afraid to ride it. The streets near our house are narrow and besides, I don't want to be one of those women who wears bike shorts and a helmut. My ass is too big and my head is too small.

After a much needed shower, Miss Pegged, Mark and I had lunch on the deck. It was a beautiful day. And then, I took a nap.

I woke in time for (my grandson) Jackson's 6:00 pm performance in Shakespeare's, Taming of the Shrew. He played a servant to Baptista, as well as Grumio, Petruchio's servant. He was magnificent.

Afterwards, we had dinner at Jackson's favorite restaurant - a Japanese hibachi restaurants where they bang pots and pans together while singing Hall pee Bird day! And then there is cake, and a candle that you must blow out. And then they tell you to smile while they take a family photo.

I didn't smile. I (sort of) wanted to smile but I was convinced I had a piece of broccoli stuck between my teeth.


A retake was requested. This time, after confirmation that there was no broccoli, I smiled.


Whats interesting about the first picture is that, although you can't see it in this picture of the picture (did that make sense?), in the original, you can clearly see an ORB above my head. No, its not that light, on the top, towards the right. That is a reflection from the light on the wall.

The orb is absent in the second photo. To me, the orb is my father's spirit. It is my first birthday without him and I miss him and of course he wouldn't miss it. Not the food part anyway. He always loved to eat. That's how I knew he wanted to die. He stopped eating.

After dinner I came home and talked to Ricki. Like me, Ricki was disfigured by DICDOC, the head plastic surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Together we strategized and vented and most importantly, bonded. Finding Ricki validates the injustice that DICDOC did to me. To us. What a wonderful birthday gift that was.

As soon as the clock struck 12:01, I felt a deep sense of relief. My birthday was over.

The rest of the weekend was spent doing not all about ME, things. But of course, it was still about me.

I visited Amy at the flower shop and bought more flowers for the deck.


Robin, my favorite monkey gurl, came to visit. She brought wine glasses that she painted with her boobs.


Jackson stayed the weekend. Boris joined us for dinner on the deck and then I painted everyones toenails. It was dark on the deck. I was drinking. It was silly, simple, fun.


The next day, I bought myself a birthday present. My very own, two ring, inflatable pool.


It matches my bike.

There is so much in my life to be grateful for. Today, I'd like to thank YOU for continuing to encouraging my joy of writing. Thank you for recognizing the goodness in me and for making me feel comfortable enough to express myself, honestly. And mostly, thank you for loving me.

xo, MonkeyME


28 comments:

  1. Ha ha good writing...again. Finally get to meet someone who feels as I do about birthdaze! The good part is that we are still kicking...and now biking and soaking. Two very nice presents that you can also bring to Burning Man.....love you

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    1. sadly, the cat snagged a hole in pool. I'm down to one ring and it looks like a giant orange condom.

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  2. I SO love that bike!!! I would ride one of those in a heart beat!!!

    ... and boob painted wine glasses... now THAT's a marketing ploy there, if I ever heard one. There could be designer boob wine glasses...

    I agree that the orb represents your Dad for the reasons you stated...

    Happy Birthday, Sunshine...

    ~shoes~

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    1. thank you Shoes~ !!! it was a risky gift to give a women with no nipples but I love them!

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  3. Happy birthday! If you work up a sweat riding your new bike, you can take a refreshing dip in your new pool -- sweet.

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    1. the cat spoiled the fun. poked a hole in it after I tried to persuade her to take a dip. time for a new pool.

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  4. Very Nice - happy birthday - orange away on your pool and bike!!

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    Replies
    1. very attracted to orange this year .... strange....

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  5. You're Welcome!

    And If I ever painted wine glasses with my boobs Tony would be an alcoholic in no time flat. :)

    The boys bought me a bike for my birthday last year... I need a new seat because my butt doesn't fit on that "stock" seat. I believe you may have read about my epic adventures shortly after receiving it on our local bike trail....

    Anyhoo...

    I gotta say, I'm a bit jealous of your pool. I have no space on the lawn... I have to settle for the deck box and the hose.

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    Replies
    1. before the cat destroyed it, we turned it into an indoor pool. time for a new pool.

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  6. What a lovely boy Jackson is. Glad they got you to smile for the second photo. And happy UNbirthday. Be well.

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  7. Happy belated birthday! This is great writing.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  8. Man that bike is sooooo COOL ! you better ride it ! JQJQ

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    Replies
    1. okay, so we went out for a bit, not far, I got scared, and came home. traffic scares me!!!

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  9. Write and rock on, Shannon! And Happy, Happy Birthday. xoxo

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  10. Happy Birthday, Shannon! I hope this is a great year for you, keep writing!

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  11. Happy birthday and many more. I just turned 60 That really sucks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. but its so much better than 70. I have to admit I get tangs of jealousy when I see someone run effortless by me....

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  12. yes, I got a hair brush to the bottom :) not fun. That was the end of my "walk on the wild side"

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  13. OMG! I missed your birthday! It happened in the midst of the crazy move and I didn't see this post until now!!

    I am very glad you were born. Very glad!!

    Happy birthday! (Your birthday is very close to mine. That's fun!)

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  14. Happy belated birthday. I like your humor and your honesty.

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  15. SHANNON! Thank you so much for coming by...you reminded me that I wanted to touch bases with you.
    Happy birthday...I only had one birthday party also. I got a cake shaped like a pumpkin and a pogo stick. That was a good day.
    You were in a conversation I had yesterday...

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  16. Hi Shannon! Happy Belated Birthday! I've been away for awhile, but am posting more often now, and getting around to some of my favorite blogs, too. Wishing you a blissful year!

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  17. You shouldn't have to work on your birthday, plus it was Friday, drinking lunch day!

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Thank you for encouraging my JOY of writing. By reading and commenting you are feeding my soul, stroking my heart, and in the end...making me a better writer.

Thank You For Encouraging My Joy of Writing

Thank You For Encouraging My Joy of Writing
greenmonkeytales@live.com

Shannon E. Kennedy

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Photo by Joan Harrison