When I was a child, somebody put a big, blue plastic camera in my grubby hands. I got older and the cameras got fancier and I “studied” photography in high school then college and I took a LOT of photos. So now I’m going to post my photos in no particular order with stories that may or may not have something to do with what’s in them – my new experiment in creative confidence.
…
I was born at 11AM. The way my mom tells it, everyone who was supposed to be there had just stepped out to get lunch. I was 9lb 9oz. My brother told my dad not to bring it home.
.
One year for my birthday my mom brought cupcakes to school. I wore a paper crown and the whole class sat in a circle while we gathered the “ingredients” and pretended to bake a birthday cake. It couldn’t have been my actual birthday.
.
One year for my birthday my mom hired a puppeteer to put on a show at our house for me and my friends. I loved the puppets then. The video is terrifying now.
.
One year for my birthday we strung up a zip line from my grandparents balcony down to the tree line at the edge of their property. My older brother had to stand in front of the tree and catch us so that we wouldn’t run into it.
.
On year for my birthday I had a joint party with a girl in my grade who had the same birthday as me because her house had a pool. Most of our friends gave us matching gifts but with a slightly different color or style…as if we were actual twins who liked to match.
.
One year for my birthday we had a big party in Michigan and afterward I stayed at my aunt and uncle’s house for two weeks. My cousin taught me how to mix paints to get different colors and my uncle showed me how to cross pollinate the lilies he grew in the back yard to get different colors. My aunt took me to MAC to get “real” makeup and bought me ice blue eye shadow and purple lipstick. The only thing I remember about the actual party is that someone’s girlfriend gave me a color-your-own fanny pack and my cousin gave me a diary with a lock on it.
.
One year for my birthday my aunt took me and a couple cousins to London. She bought me a special cake from the bakery around the corner, we rode the London Eye, and got Chinese food for dinner. I can’t remember what play we saw that particular night but it was either Billy Elliott, Footloose, or Mary Poppins. I had my first real scone.
.
One year for my birthday, my friends came over and we had a water gun fight on the back deck while my dad barbecued. I had just cut my hair short and it poofed up into an afro. Mom got a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake with chocolate cake and chocolate chip ice cream and had a picture printed on it. My friends fought over who would get to eat my eye.
.
One year for my birthday my college friends came up to stay with me at my parents’ house. We rented boats at Burke Lake Park, had dinner at Benihana, and went to play laser tag. A group of preteens cornered me upstairs until my friend came over and threatened them all. My brother gave me a bottle of Goldschlager and taught my friends how to play poker.
.
One year for my birthday I had a joint party with my sorority sister who had the same birthday as me. Over 100 people showed up. Two tall guys from a different school carried me in on a chaise, we finished a keg in under 2 hours, and I met my college boyfriend.
.
One year for my birthday my friend and my brother came to visit in Charlottesville. We went bar hopping around The Corner and the parking lot attendants gave me a swig of something they were drinking. My boyfriend and I streaked the lawn after midnight (it’s a tradition and no, my brother was not there) and I made him hold my hand the entire way down and back. As soon as we got our clothes back on, I threw up over the side of the rotunda into the courtyard.
.
One year for my birthday I went to the beach with a friend of a friend I had only met twice and her family I didn’t know. Her mother asked what kind of cake I liked and I said ice cream but if it has chocolate cake it needs to have vanilla ice cream otherwise it’s too concentrated and she said “This is my child.”
.
One year for my birthday I went to stay with my parents at their new house in Florida. My parents drove 45 minute to the closest Baskin Robbins to get my favorite cake. I wondered why nobody wrote me to say happy birthday until I posted a picture of our “birthday boat ride” to watch the sunset on the Gulf…I realized that I had my birth date set to private on Facebook.
.
One year for my birthday my friend and I got midnight pedicures at a place that serves champagne. I took off work the next day and we wandered around DC. We went to see an interactive art exhibit, got manicures to match our pedicures, and were the first people at the door of our favorite ramen place when they opened (usually it’s a 1 hour wait).
.
Many years for my birthday my dad has asked what I want to eat and I tell him gumbo. He spends all day making soup in the dead heat of summer with the windows open. Something about the smell attracts lady bugs and they’ll cover the screens. When he gets to the roux, he’ll say “come watch how I do this” even though I’ve seen it 20 times before.
.
This year for my birthday I ate my favorite cake baked by my best friend/coworker/roommate and then we worked until 8pm eating Thai food in the conference room trying to get everything done before I leave on a long international trip in three weeks. We’ll have the real party this weekend.
.
📷 This is a picture of me in a big chair in front of a big mirror in the timeshare condo my Aunt had to say goodbye to this year.
.
Here’s to 29.