Birthdays, Meeting Life Backwards, and a Midlife Crisis or Two

This past weekend I decided to celebrate my daughter's birthday by doing exactly what I wanted to do. I made this decision when I remembered that I put at least half of the work into her birth-- if no one else appreciated my efforts, I would do what I could to make my day special...as well as hers. I think that all children should be taught to recognize their mother's efforts on the day they formally joined the world. It should be a joint celebration...it's only fair! So, I slept in a bit.

I went with the family to enjoy a delightful brunch in celebration of her big day. After patiently waiting in line for a bit, I got a bit obstinate and decided to just walk up to the buffet table where there was something I wanted to get. None of this line garbage for me! I even went backwards along the table a bit. When it came time for the dessert table I cut in line, selected the very last raspberry tart and sat back down knowing that "no guilt would be felt today!"

I then went with the family to the St. Petersburg Fine Arts Museum and enjoyed the exhibits backwards. I decided that this was entirely the best way to go. Everyone was viewing the exhibits by politely following the person in front of them usually in a counter-clockwise direction, clockwise in some of the rooms. I don't know who decides these things to start. It just seems to happen. Going backwards against the grain so to speak, I would just pop in closer where there was something of interest that required a better look. Those who were pretending to be knowledgable and discussing the finer points of interest of each piece were a bit disturbed, but not too much. I am sure that I found just the right level of annoyance. I am sure that I did not view the exhibit rooms in any kind of order either. It was quite fun. I highly recommend this method.

There was a delightful Pre-Columbian exhibit that greatly amused me. Pre-Columbian artists had no problem with displaying parts of the human anatomy that distinguished males and females... usually in exaggerated proportions. So I found it humorous that the signage for the statues, etc. would state "male figure" or "female figure" at the beginning of the description of each piece when any idiot could figure that part out for themselves.

Monet was supposed to be the highlight of the museum, but I found that the pieces displayed were not what I expected. Evidently some of his better and more striking works were not included in this selection of his work. I did see some wonderful paintings and other artwork though, and with a trip to the gift shop at the end, it was well worth the trip. I got a cute mouse book for the g'kids and a fabulous pair of earrings for myself to celebrate my big day.

The birthday girl has decided to have her first midlife crisis. Somehow though, she got the mistaken impression that she could only have one! She has some good ideas, but her options are a bit overboard. She seems to think she must "do it all" as this is her only chance. I shall have to correct that misconception. After all, there is a reason that "midlife" is such an inocuous word. It allows for a broad range of interpretation. I simply do not know where I went wrong. Somwhere along the way I missed including this important life lesson. She did start correctly by making the decision, so I will just have to bring her up to speed. One must savor every delightful moment of a good midlife crisis. Also, I do need to inquire how long she plans for this one to last.

I am so proud of this eldest child of mine. She is such a unique individual and has decided to embrace her first midlife crisis with gusto! You go girl! Make it your own, make it unique, make it fun, and make it last! Make your Mum proud! And when you are done, we'll have a good game of Scrabble and a nice cup of tea.