Bittersweet Symphony
2004-06-05 at 6:14 a.m.
So you say it's your birthday
So a couple of days ago it was my birthday. Birthdays aren't really important, I think, after you reach a certain age. But it is still nice to think about something that you've thought about on the same day every year, which is, namely, that you are getting older. So it's not important that people make a big deal, but it is still nice. So I woke up that morning to a surprising calm. Usually I wake up to Husam singing whatever the Arabic equivalent of "La la la la laaaaa la la laaa" and you know how I am about noise so it always pisses me off for the 10 minutes it takes me to realize that Aidan and I are, inexorably, awake. But no noise. So that was nice. But then I got up and realized that there was apsolutely no one there. It was strange. Ali was in school, Dany was running errands (which he does everyday for the entire extended family), Hussein and Hussam were at Hussein's mother's house, and Safaa was with her father in the hospital. But they left a note. I was happy at first, but as the day wore on I slipped into depression. Then Danny came home, bringing the phone, and I had to realize that Wael didn't call and, in fact, wasn't going to call. But then! The rest of the family returned, around 9 at night and they brought a cake! I wasn't expecting it, it was so nice. Even if it didn't taste as good as our cake tastes (I don't like pistachios).Wael called the next day and he didn't call because he had been doing inventory in addition to his regular 12 hours and he was so tired he fell asleep as soon as he sat down. Poor thing.
My dad does not accept anyone mentioning or may a big deal out of his birthday. I don't think it's because he hates to feel old. I think it's because he realized sometime around my age that no one really cares about "that day" but you, and maybe your mother if she's really crowdy. Everyone else just pretends. Which is ok. Because you will pretend another day. What movie is that from "run away another day?" Seems like Robin Williams.
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