26 {happy birthday to me!}

My birthday was yesterday, and I had a great day! I think part of what made it so great was that I really tried to have zero expectations and to ask for(/make happen) what I wanted. Several months ago, I wrote about my "birthday epiphany" which was essentially that we should always plan our own birthdays and not put the pressure on other people to make our day great (because people aren't mind readers, and we often don't even know our own minds well enough), so I was trying to put that into practice.

As my birthday approached, I started to feel all this pressure to come up with something fun to do on my birthday. I honestly didn't have any ideas, which kinda made me feel ... dumb? ... like, why don't I know what I want to do on my birthday? But then when my birthday came, I had this realization that I was feeling pressure to do something that other people might think was cool, so I let that go and decided that what I wanted on my birthday was just to relax a bit, go out to dinner, and maybe have Russ help me clean the house. Not really glamorous things, but that's what I wanted, so that's what I planned on!

Throughout the day, I received texts, calls, and visits from friends and family. One friend brought me chocolate covered strawberries, one brought me my favorite drink from Sodalicious, and two of my friends heart attacked my doors with things they love about me. None of that was expected, so I just felt overwhelmed with love for all these people! :) One of my friends (one who heart attacked) also offered to babysit Ada while Russ and I went to dinner that night. So freaking sweet! 😭

i have never ordered a soda this big! haha :)

Ada took a long afternoon nap, which gave me time to do some digital scrapbooking, chat with my two friends while they heart attacked my door (they tried to surprise me, but when I saw they were here, I went outside because I wanted to hang out with them haha), and talk to my friend-cousin Talyn for 20 or 30 minutes on the phone. Russ came home on the tail end of Ada's nap, and I asked him if he would do the dishes while I finished up what I was working on in my digital scrapbook, which he happily did.

As for gifts from Russ, I told Russ what I wanted several weeks ago: I wanted to print the four digital scrapbooks that I had ready and waiting in my queue. They're expensive, so I was going to use all the money I got from parents and grandparents, but we'd still be spending more than we usually do for birthdays. He agreed, so I ordered the books. I wasn't sad at all that Russ didn't get me any other gifts, because I had already gotten myself exactly what I wanted.

Wedding album, engagement album/reception sign-in book,
Ada's first year, 2011-2017 (minus 2015, which I just need
 to finish up our big trip to complete the book), and a book
of a bunch of mine and Russ's early text messages :) Yay! :)

I enjoyed my day relaxing with Ada and Russ, and then in the evening, Russ and I went out to dinner at Art City Trolley. We chatted and enjoyed the night out together!

We came home, put Ada to bed (she gave me the best hug!!), and then I folded laundry while we watched a few episodes of Friends. And although that's not glamorous and it's what we often do in the evenings, it felt fine because my day had already been so great and it's what I wanted to do!

I feel like -- in terms of what we DID -- it was one of the lowest key birthdays I've ever had. And yet, I felt so much JOY yesterday. I just felt so grateful for all the people that celebrated me!

I've reflected on the joy of yesterday a bit, and I've found myself thinking, "why can't every day be like that? I wish people told me all the time how much they love me and how grateful they are for me!" (haha 😂) But I realized that not only would that make it seem less special, but it would also mean I could never get anything done! I spent so much time on the phone or talking in person with people yesterday. And it was GREAT because I had purposely planned pretty much nothing, so I didn't feel like the friends were pulling me away from anything. However, on a normal day, I do make plans, and I am prone to feel somewhat irritated with unscheduled calls or visits because I wasn't planning on them. So I had a perfect birthday, but this realization helped me slip back into the reality of day-to-day life pretty seamlessly :)

Thanks to all who showed me so much love!!