party or pirate acts, you decide

Well things here in menomonie are settling and unsettling.

First and foremost, I'm turning 37 in about 2 weeks. We were trying to find something to do that felt like a vacation for me - looking for a cabin to huddle in, thought about camping (no way with a shrieking baby), driving to a lodge and charging rooms on my credit card, etc. However, none of that has really come through. Today I asked Lola what she thought I should do on my birthday and she suggested a party. Voila! Perhaps I will. It's been ages since *I've* had a party, and it would be very nice to have people stop in for a while and be nice to me on purpose.

See, the last week or so has been pretty stressful, imbalanced. Nothing I've touched seems to have worked right. At first I thought Mercury was retrograde (communication stuff), but that's not it. I'm just feeling a bit less confident and self-assured. And when that happens, I'm more likely to be defensive or short-tempered or prone to crying or just plain cranky. Luckily I have a delightfully understanding partner who will listen to me talk about how I feel off and offer support unconditionally. I understand that this, too, shall pass, but I might just be ready for some people to remind me of who I am and forget all that other crap by just showing up to wish me a happy birthday. But in the midst of my funk, I'm afraid that no one will show up, and which would be worse, no one coming by or simply not throwing the party? I'm willing to take that chance, but because we don't have many friends in real life locally, this could be a bust. It could be fun, but it could also be a total flop. And would I have to make my own cake?

Readers, what do you think? Should I throw myself a party or find something else that's fun to do just with my family, like rent a pontoon boat and commit increasingly drunken pirate acts on the unwary boaters of Lake Menomin?

On a brighter note, Chris's writing gig might pay! And how cool is that? I mean, I knew he was a super cool pirate papa, but now the rest of the world will, too. Hooray for Rad Dad, the zine, for recognizing Chris as the star he always was.