The Worst Birthday Ever Until...

I have been fortunate in life because my family and friends have always made my birthdays special and in return I do the same for them. I never believe people who say they don't care about their birthdays or people who say their birthday is just another day. I mean come on everyone wants to feel special on their birthday.

On Friday July 28th I woke up at 6:15am in a crappy motel room in Lake Forest, California. (Lake Forest is 30-40 minutes south of Los Angeles and 10 minutes from the client's office in Laguna Niguel.) I had a feeling of dread from the drama that ensued over the week but decided it was my birthday and I was going to make the best of it and not worry about things I could not change. At 6:30am my girlfriend Cheryl called to wish me happy birthday and shortly after that I received a text message from Amy saying the same. I still had a blah feeling but things were looking up so I got out of bed, made coffee and got ready for the day.

The original plan was to leave California at 11:00am to be back in Las Vegas around 4:00pm. I wanted plenty of time to get out of my traveling clothes, shower and feel like a birthday girl because I was having dinner with friends but this is NOT what happened.

We (I was traveling with the company CTO (Chief Technical Officer) who is also the VP) did not leave until 1:15pm and by the time we gassed up and really got under way we had committed traffic suicide in Southern Cal. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes to go 6 miles. Ugh! At this point I was irritated beyond my limits and that is all I am going to say just in case this blog falls into the wrong hands but trust me I was IRRITATED!

At 5:30 I called my friends and cancelled dinner because I was still 100+ miles from home, tired and in a very fowl mood. My friend Amy would not hear of it and insisted I call her when I got closer to home. I finally arrived back in Las Vegas at 7:00pm and decided I would meet Amy for dinner because the CTO I was traveling with his flight home was not until MIDNIGHT and I didn't know what else to do with him. I arrived at the restaurant in my traveled in clothes, exhausted, looking a fright and definitely not feeling like a birthday girl. The three of us had an uneventful dinner and there was still too much time left before I could drop this dude at the airport so we decided to play some slots to kill the time. Thank God for my great friend Amy who made my day better by insisiting I meet her for dinner.

Finally, at 10:30pm I left the airport and was free! I called my best friend who sounded like she had a few too many cocktails, she forgot my birthday last year and apparently forgot again this year. Completely defeated and 1 and a half hours left before midnight and the end of my special day I headed home to go to bed and forget about it. This was the worst birthday ever! Until...

Apparently while I was driving from CA to LV I was in and out of cell service. I noticed the voice mail icon glowing on my cell phone and checked my messages. There were six wonderful messages from family and friends wishing me birthday greetings. When I arrived home I checked my mailbox and there were lovely cards from my family and friends and when I walked through my door there were flowers and gifts waiting for me from my friends at work. I was so touched. I realized the best gift of all is the love of your family and friends and no matter how bad a day or week we may be having there are always people that love and care for us at all times. I knew this all along but I needed my family and friends at that time and even though I was a country away there they were, they were there for me making my birthday special.