HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAUGHTER

So despite having only just recovered from Covid and feeling exhausted, I managed to party with my children till the early hours on Saturday to help celebrate my daughters 26th birthday. Admittedly I was a party girl pre-Covid, but post-Covid nothing seems to have changed. In fact, if anything I’m planning to get unapologetically worse and not going to let anything stop me celebrating with my family and all of humanity now.  There’s absolutely nothing better as an antidote for the Covid blues than hanging out with other HUMANS – for me, not only ones I’ve actually made earlier, but ones that I’ve known all their lives, ones that are new friends and some that are still strangers.  It is just JOYFUL beyond belief to hug, talk rubbish, laugh, drink and dance with them all, so I don’t even care about the mass super-spreader element now that I’ve had it, or that it’s a bit weird or that I’ve managed to set myself back on my path to recovery just a little bit.  You can sleep when you’re dead and all that.

It’s strange that I haven’t really felt like I’ve wanted to throw myself back into everything yet, but going to pubs and restaurants and hanging out with family and friends is right up there and whilst I’m not sure I’d have felt quite so gung-ho about throwing myself into the mosh pit of life if I hadn’t have caught the virus, now that I’ve had Covid I’m feeling invincible (which is surely a worry).  The messy, happy, joyful noise of a crowd of people all having fun – is that not why we are all here in the first place?  As social animals interacting? It’s what makes many of us very, very happy.

We had a fun family birthday meal out for her the evening before her actual birthday.   We went to a local French restaurant where I chose French onion soup because I knew that I would at least be able to taste it.  Didn’t go for the expensive fillet steak like my children did, I chose a ratatouille pancake instead and it felt wonderful to be out again.  I look like an idiot, but oh well – happy family vibe going on here:-

My son had reading week so managed to get back from uni for the festivities and here I am with my eldest son’s girlfriend as well:-

Her actual birthday involved a birthday breakfast:-

Followed by an afternoon with all her girlfriends and then the pub and in this photo I can pretend I’m the one with lovely long curly locks, even though they’re hers –

Followed by a club around the corner from the pub.  But.  After queuing for ages with all the young ones, the bouncer let most of them in, but wouldn’t let me in.  He didn’t quite say:-
“You’re far too f*cking old, stand aside” but he might as well have done.

Instead he said:-

“Sorry, the club is now full, can you stand over there?”
“Where do you mean over there?” I asked him incredulously.  He was basically pointing at the main road.
“There’s no one else there and it means I’ve lost my place in the queue? Surely I just need to wait here until there is space?  People are coming out all the time?”  He rolled his eyes.
WTF.  So rude and ageist.

Anyway, my daughter was sweetly incensed so although I was happy to quietly disappear and leaving them to it, my daughter went into the club and insisted everyone leave and in solidarity suggested that everyone come back to mine instead.  How I failed to notice that this was a positive result for her, rather than me, I’m not entirely sure.  So forty of her friends invaded my house to support me in my misery, bringing their own booze and party mood and the rest is history on repeat – only better, because I’ve missed those gatherings and don’t care that I’ll never learn.  I do however care about all my lovely neighbours and hope that we managed to keep the noise levels down and inside.

At least it’s clear that it’s not my fault.  My father used to do the same thing back in the day, so as per usual I can blame my parents. My brother came too and having both agreed we wouldn’t have a late night and that we would ensure each other got to bed at a sensible hour – he left my house at 5am.