birthday

Thank you all for commenting here yesterday; I purposefully didn't say it was my birthday because I didn't want to be that girl who is like "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY COME LOOK AT ME!", but still was overflowing withi joy and had to enthuse. But you all found out anyway thanks to Kristin and TLC. FrogDad, that was the nicest thing anyone's ever said about me. Puffin, that card was awesome no matter when it was sent. And all the comments on here, on TLC...just warmed my heart.

I'm back at work today, but since I have about a half hour before running out to an assignment I can take the time to explain just what made my birthday so EXTRA special yesterday.

First of all, it was spent in the exact way I love spending my birthdays. Sunday night, a large smattering of friends and family came over for food and fun. We played movie trivia games ("Shout About Movies," during which there was much shouting) and exchanged late Christmas presents and ate a LOT. Almost everyone important in my life was there, and if they weren't, it's because they don't live in New York and I didn't even tell them about it (because they live so far). That's a perfect birthday, to me, to just be with friends and family and enjoy.

So I'm sitting with my two oldest friends and my roommate, and we're chowing down and chatting when I hear someone say "Is this the party, then?"

As the quote might indicate the voice had a British accent. I turned around and my jaw landed in my eggplant parmigiana. There in my doorway, bundled up and carrying bags, were John, T, and "Little John" (Jamie really is on call for studio and couldn't come, though he played a part in this big ruse). The family that couldn't find a flight out for the holidays, who really wanted to be in New York in December but couldn't manage it, who were going to spend Boxing Day and New Year's at "a friend's house. LIARS! All of them! LIARS! BLOODY STINKING LIARS!

But I love them for it. The screaming and jumping and hugging and "YOU LIARS!" ensued, and then the story fell out: the millions of emails between my mother and John, how my mother orchestrated all of it, barely telling any one of my friends for fear they'd slip it to me by accident. And they're here for a week! Through New Year's! They came out here just to surprise me, and I just...was overwhelmed by it.

And then the second part of the surprise. My mother is doing this thing for the charity she works on where she's getting Goblet of Fire books signed by the cast (rather, John and T are) and raffling it. She always told me that they were getting two books. What she DIDN'T tell me was that one was for me, for my birthday. And every damn last kid signed it, personalized it. T said they all knew who I was when she told them, which makes me feel wonderful about the site; one of the kids said "Oh, I go to that site all the time!" It's such a special, special, special book.

But them coming here was the best present ever. We stayed up half the night talking and spent my actual birthday shopping, eating and seeing movies (Meet the Fockers, very funny). Little John kicked my ass at pool (though I won by default twice because he messed up at the end), and we've been laughing two days straight.

When I blew out my candles, I didn't wish for anything. I have friends and family people would die for...what else do I want? Nothing, that's what.