March 31 has always been a weird date to have a birthday. Growing up in New England, it was always…and I mean ALWAYS…mud season, so there were no pool or backyard parties. By the time I moved south and the odds of being able to go outside to celebrate had improved, I was grown up and had to settle for lunches with officemates (which I loved, BTW).
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some great birthdays. There was the trip back from Europe in high school where I *think* the European flight attendants gave me (a then-teetotaler, if you must know) a drink on the way home to celebrate. I might be making that up…but it’s a cool story and I’m sticking to it. In college, one of my former roommates made me a volleyball shaped cake - that was amazing. One year back in the day, a friend surprised me with a Matrix-themed scavenger hunt that I didn’t know I was on until a total stranger in running clothes stopped to ask me for the time…twice. In Arkansas, some pals and I hiked out to Hawksbill Crag; that was awesome.
Then there were the travel birthdays. Those started in 2016 for my 40th, when I escaped all the way to Hawaii and hiked to a stunning view to celebrate.
The next year, I woke up to snow in the Utah canyons - complete magic.
Since then, things have calmed down a little. Last year, my day fell during one of the first weeks of the pandemic, when everyone was very serious about staying home and stocking up and wondering if the apocalypse was upon us. A friend managed to send me flowers, which is a gorgeous splash of color in a day that I remember as silent and gray…it was cloudy, naturally.
Fast forward 365 days, and my 2nd COVID birthday looked a little different. It was sunny, for one (yay!) and my family treated me to a lovely dinner and TWO - count ‘em - varieties of cupcakes. I got a card from my long-ago Little Sister. As they usually do, the facebook notes and text messages rolled in. I enjoyed every single one, even the ones from people I haven’t actually spoken to in more than 20 years.
What strikes me about this year is the few folks who said “I hope you did fun things to celebrate!” First, bless them for their optimism that I could, indeed, have done some fun things. That’s a sign that things are looking up (so is me getting my 2nd vaccine shot, but I digress).
But when I thought about what would be really fun, pretty much every option was still off the table, either for safety reasons or that whole not having a job thing.
Go get drinks at a nice bar with friends where we talk and laugh and hug each other? - No
Go to a movie and eat lots of buttery popcorn? - Nein
Hop on plane and go hike somewhere new and fantastic? - Negative
Go to a concert? - Nope
Go to a play? - Nyet
Go see some dance? - You get the point
It was the last part of the list that got me. Live performing arts. It’s been so long since I’ve been to any of those things that I almost forget they were options. Y’all, we haven’t had real live arts performances in over a year. And no, overhearing the cover band at the restaurant patio across the street doesn’t count.
I know there are wonderful online performances that I can watch from the comfort of my own couch. But dammit, I am TIRED of that couch. I want to fight for parking and stand in a long line at the restrooms and try not to step on toes when I climb to my seat. I want to grumble about how uncomfortable the seats are. I want that thrill I always get when the house lights go down. I want to see real people sing and laugh and cry and spit on each other as they e-nun-ci-ate. I want to shake my head when I can see into the wings because the curtains aren’t set correctly. I want to wonder if that singer will hit that note, and sigh in relief when she does. I want to drink in the buzz of people in the lobby afterward. I want all the laughter, tears, and deep thoughts that come from going to a live show.
So, I just have one request for next year, on my birthday. Wherever I am, whomever I’m with…let’s go see a show, ok?
To all my fellow spring birthday peeps; I feel you. Hope we catch a break next year. To everyone who works (or worked) in the live performing arts…I love you and miss you and hope you can get back to doing what you do really soon, because boy, do we need it! Whenever it happens, I’ll be there with bells on. Well, not really, that would be annoying, but you get it.
I am totally with ya sista! Can't wait to have some arts back in my life!