Time marches on

We celebrated my birthday this weekend.  My bday was Saturday, which also happened to be our date night.  M made plans for the night.  We started with dinner at Taj Mahal.  We had a great dinner and were walking out to the car, when M mentioned my new age.  I had completely forgotten the fact that my age changed.  I like to think of my birthdays as a celebration of me, rather than the aging association.  I guess my plan is working, because until M reminded me, it completely escaped my notice.  For the next three weeks, I will be two years older than him, rather than just one, so he has the next three weeks to revel in his cougar jokes.

After dinner, we attended a play in Madison at Broom Street Theater (Seeking Flight).  It's been a while since we've been there.  M picked the play as a surprise because it was about birds kept in captivity.  I would normally not have attended the show, simply because I hate crying in public and work very hard to avoid anything that may cause that to happen.  We enjoyed the play, and I managed to keep it together for the most part, but I felt very sad after.  The play actually had a happy ending, but it was based on the real situation of Alex the African Gray parrot who spent his life as an experiment.  Alex didn't get a similar happy ending, and most birds don't, so I couldn't shake the sadness, even after a happy ending!  I also kept thinking of poor Sagan and lonely Simi, which added to my malaise.

Dej brought over some of the most delicious vegan cupcakes ever.  Our friend, Ande, makes them, and everything he makes is delicious.  These were chocolate/chocolate chip with raspberry frosting.  Yum.  My mom also baked me my favorite cherry-chocolate cake.  I'm revving up the workouts, so I can fully enjoy my delicious baked goods.

 I am once again wearing a wedding ring, though not my original set.  I've worn the rings less and less through the years, and really reached a point where, for a variety of reasons, I felt I didn't want to wear a ring at all.  I don't like rings.  I love the way they look, but they drive me crazy to wear.  Partially because I have very skinny fingers, and my mid knuckle is the largest part, which means my rings slip and slide and spin constantly, even when they fit as tightly possible over the knuckle.  I do so much with my hands, and they always seem to be in the way.  I don't feel the need to broadcast my marital status, as it's not relevant to anyone other than my family.  I have some major issues with wearing expensive gold & diamonds that serve no purpose.  I'm a bit embarrassed that we followed that stupid tradition way back when, and I don't think they accurately reflect me or my values.  My skin frequently reacts badly to metals--even gold (because of the nickel? it's cut with).  For these and a few other reasons, I had just decided to forget the rings.

M wears his ring, and since it won't come off anymore, he will continue to wear it.  He finally expressed a little discomfort with my intention to remain ring free.  I don't quite get it, but in deference to his feelings, started doing some research to see if I could come up with a compromise.  I found one that seems to work.  I got a simple titanium band.  It's indestructible, doesn't cause skin reactions, and is more reflective of who I am and my values.  I am trying to get used to wearing a ring again--right now it's very irritating, but eventually I will get used to it and not even think about it.  I think it's a compromise that we can both live with.  Now...I need to find a similar compromise for our toilet paper wars at home!