will WE play in Peoria?

OCTOBER 5, 1967

Ate and slept. Met a LOT of new people!

OCTOBER 5, 1971

Went to the circus. Hated it. Left early. Returned home to enjoy circus-themed birthday cake.

OCTOBER 5, 1973

Got red bicycle for my birthday. With streamers on the handlebars. Zoomed down sidewalk.

OCTOBER 5, 1976

Caught up in frenzy of nation’s bi-centennial. Put my own celebration on back burner to honor America.

OCTOBER 5, 1980

Began teen years. If memory serves me right, Dad took me to dinner at fancy restaurant on top of INB building downtown Indianapolis. I believe I had some lobster bisque. Found out family moving to California.

OCTOBER 5, 1983

Got drivers license. Tried to hide embarrassment that Dad fell asleep in DMV while I was taking the test. Arms very sore from practicing parallel parking all weekend in car without power steering. Found out parallel parking not on the test. Likely took Autoclave out for a spin that evening.

OCTOBER 5, 1985

Celebrated at college. Don’t remember details; imagine pizza and beer involved.

OCTOBER 5, 1988

Celebrated 21st birthday. Positive it was the first time I even tried to order a drink in a bar or restaurant because I looked so young I never dared try a fake id. Many Westwood bartenders and bouncers doubted me that evening. Pictures assure me I looked cute.

OCTOBER 5, 1991

First birthday out on my own. Friend turned celebration into week long affair. I don’t remember the names of all the places we hit that week in Terre Haute. Fairly certain at least one night involved drinking bloody brains at Molly’s.

OCTOBER 5, 1995

First birthday celebrated with Bill. He bought me ski boots I never wore.

OCTOBER 5, 1997

Spent my 30th birthday as a newlywed on the verge of moving to North Carolina. Cried because none of my friends remembered it. Maybe they were just tired of celebrating every other thing under the sun with me that year.

OCTOBER 5, 2003

Spent my birthday as a new mom.

OCTOBER 5, 2006

Still jet-lagged and dazed, I spent my 39th birthday chasing Kaitlyn around the Orange store
(mobile provider in France). It was not pleasant. Bill got me the LG Chocolat phone. Slept on rental bed in new house. Probably ate spaghetti because it was the only thing I could figure out to cook at that point.

OCTOBER 5, 2008

Met friends in Paris and spent my birthday eating in the Eiffel Tower, shopping in Parisian boutiques and strolling along the Seine. Missed my family terribly.

OCTOBER 5, 2010

First birthday spent in Peoria. Celebrated at home with Bill and Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn gave me a note she wrote me about how “seet” I am. It’s framed and hanging up where i can see it many times a day. It still makes me smile.

OCTOBER 5, 2011
Lounged around in bed watching Will and Grace reruns all morning. Put several cruises on hold for next summer. Just because. It needed done. Ate apple smothered in carmel and Reddi Whip for breakfast. Lunching with new friends in the neighborhood. Looking forward to lunching with old friend from France tomorrow. (Yes, I still like to drag out the celebrations!) Bought shrimp to make for dinner. May change mind and insist on take out. (Shrimp is frozen; it’ll be fine till the weekend!) Have frozen pumpkin pie in freezer for dessert.

Six o’clock on Saturday night and there is a symphony of lawnmowers buzzing outside my windows. (Punctuated by the occasional shout from the neighbors where they are apparently watching a football game…. or playing the world’s most exciting round of Monopoly.)

Maybe it’s the frost advisory for tonight that has everyone out trimming the lawns, hoping it’s the last time for months. So that in a few months when the snow (finally) melts, a neatly manicured lawn appears.

And for those who weren’t ready for frost, that’s probably my fault. We had our sprinkler system installed last week and it isn’t even hooked up yet. But we wouldn’t want to spend all that money and then be able to use the thing to water the grass seeds we’ll have to toss down to try to save the lawn in the spots where they dug. Although, really, the lawn looks no worse than it did before they started. Which is why we had the sprinklers put in in the first place.

Maybe my plans to go out this week and buy a new bush to replace the one I killed aren’t the wisest.

I like fall. But I’m ready for Indian Summer. Just to get a few things finished.