This year’s birthday had the potential to be a rough one. Not a particularly significant birthday; fell smack in the middle of the week during a week when Jason couldn’t take off because his team was up against a deadline; and my first birthday with none of my kids home. So I was feeling particularly vulnerable as the day approached, and Jason decided to spread my birthday throughout the week.

It started Saturday morning, with a trip to Nowhere Bookshop. Nowhere is a local indie bookshop founded by author Jenny Lawson. I’d been told I needed to go there for ages, but hadn’t managed to make it there yet. So that’s what we did Saturday morning, and I fell absolutely in love with this bookstore. We have one other indie bookstore in San Antonio, but it’s horrible. I’ve tried to go there a few times over the last couple decades and it never gets any better. Nowhere was brilliant. Of course, I overspent, coming home with 1) three books, including an unknown blind-date-with-a-book book; 2) a pin for my hiking bag; 3) more stickers than I should have brought home; 4) several book recommendations to check out from my library; and 5) the above-pictured coffee mug. I can already tell this is a place I want to hang out often. It will likely be detrimental to my wallet and my longstanding refusal to buy books that I haven’t yet read. Heh.

On Sunday, Jason and I went to the only place in town that has duckpin bowling. This is an activity that seems to be cursed for me. I tried to go with a group of friends in January, but right as we arrived, they were shutting down all the lanes for not properly responding. Last Sunday, the facility was super crowded and loud, and the line was very long. Also, it would have been almost $50 for us to play for an hour, whereas it would only be $10 if we played during certain hours M-Th. So we decided to come back on my birthday proper…only to have a large corporate group rent out the entire place not long before we arrived. Sigh. So still no duckpin bowling for me!

The plan on Wednesday, other than the bowling that didn’t happen, was very low key. In the morning, I wanted to go to Mildfire to get my favorite of their speciality drinks, a mocha java shake. I ended up going later during the morning than planned due to Stuff, and then when I got there, their blender was broken and I had to get a regular drink. Boo. At least I had a great book to sit with, and I treated myself to a scone as well. I’ll just have to go back next week and try for a belated birthday shake!

Not much else happened on the day-of. After bowling got taken off the table, Jason and I stopped by the Sanctuary because I had a gift card, but I didn’t find anything I loved enough to buy this time around. We ended up going out to eat at one of our local favorites, Salsalitos, because I wanted comfort food. Jason had spread out my gifts over several days, so I opened the last one, which was the 50mm portrait lens I’d been lusting after for the last six months! (Photo of Angus was my first photo with the new lens.) And one of my three kiddos remembered to say happy birthday. Ha!

Friday, I hung out with some friends for brunch and books, which was delightful. Yesterday, I got to open my final incoming gift. At lunch today, Jason and I will have my birthday meal (laban ummo) and dessert (chocolate & mocha bavarois), and tonight, we’re meeting up with an old friend. (That last part has nothing to do with birthdays, but it’s serendipitous all the same!) After that, the celebrations are over, at least until next weekend, when there’s going to be a belated birthday bash with a group of my girlfriends that involves many of my favorite things. Def looking forward to that adventure!

So it was a vulnerable week, but also one in which I had so many lovely folks around me to bolster and cheer me. It ended up being really great, even if nothing went to plan.