Quarantine Birthday

I’ve never been a big fan of birthdays. Chalk it up to a broken, lower class home and being the only one in my extended family with a birthday around that time. It was rarely a thing to look forward to. Every year felt like a new incarnation of Sixteen Candles.

I made the decision in 2019 to make my 2020 birthday enjoyable, if not memorable. I spent the first two months of 2020 in a walking boot and was determined that the rest of the year would be one instagram worthy event after the other. I was already planning where I would have a gathering (a new axe throwing bar; what could go wrong?!).

I’m a late March baby. An Aries with an Aries moon AND sun (if you’re into that sort of thing). Anyone can imagine how those plans turned out.

The day before my birthday, my job had officially laid off 90% of the staff due to safer-at-home regulations. They use the term “furlough” to make it sound fancier!

Happy Birthday to me, indeed.

This was not even two weeks after “lockdown” began in the US. Toilet paper was scarce, everyone learned what “PPE” stood for and people were still hopeful this nonsense would only go for a month.

Being the Aries drama queen I am, I made this personal: “Of COURSE this would all go down right before MY birthday. Every year my plans get railroaded somehow, why not a global pandemic to REALLY make a girl feel special?!”

I posted to my social meeds (as a proper drama queen is wont to do) a very woe-is-me tale:

“Who has two thumbs, no job, and a global pandemic during her birthday?! This bitch! I’d laugh if I weren’t too busy crying!”

I ended the post with my Venmo account and the request of, “send me your favorite memory or me, a pic or a video of a cute animal, or heck, send me what you would’ve spent on a birthday drink! Lolz, JK, just wear a mask, mmmmkay?”

I put my phone down and focused on curating my Netflix queue. Next thing I know, I’m getting a call from a friend:

“Are you home? There’s a delivery driver at your door.”

I rush down the stairs (mask on, cuz I care about people) and there’s a nervous looking delivery driver with a pretty pink bag of pastries. She tentatively says, “um, Aubrey says Happy Birthday. Bye!” And rushes off.

Two of my out of town friends had a birthday breakfast delivered to me! Coffee, a Nutella pastry and the best tasting Madeleine I’ve ever had. Have you ever eaten a Nutella pastry after your morning nihilistic cry? There’s nothing like it!

I video chatted with them to catch up and say thanks and felt a little warmer inside. But the day wasn’t through!

A text!

“Hey girl, a group of us pooled some money together and I’m gonna Venmo you right now. It’s not much but we hope it helps.”

More texts! More messages! More video calls!

“Here’s my favorite pic of us from high school!”

“You have a new Venmo deposit from....”

“Remember that one time....”

Messages came from old friends I hadn’t spoken to in years: funny memories, pictures I didn’t know existed of myself, small tokens of joy from different seasons of life. So many words of encouragement from old friends and new. It was like a virtual “This Is Your Life.”

When all was said and done, I had three birthday meals and almost $600 in gifts. It was more than I had ever expected and came at a time when I was feeling low. My mood made a complete 180 in a matter of hours.

I'd never felt more rallied around and cared for in my life. Somehow, it ended up being one of the best birthdays I’d ever had!

Obviously, quarantine didn’t end in a month. But I saw that spirit of kindness a lot throughout the year and that has helped get me through this continued nightmare. I know I am loved and I have so many hugs to give when this is finally over. Awkward, lingering hugs that make you feel a little weird.

Maybe for my birthday this year, I’ll get my vaccine! If not a vaccine, definitely another morning nihilistic cry followed by a Nutella pastry.