A 40th Birthday To Remember

A Vintage Nerd, 40th Birthday Celebration, Tea & Sympathy

Gee whiz I'm 40! I can clearly remember the day I put together my 39 Things Before I Turn 40 list and shared with you all. And now the day has come and I want to share with you what it was like for me.

Let's start with  the blizzard of 2016 hitting my side of the world the day before my birthday. But I wasn't going to let that stop me. I really want to delve into having more adventures. I'm still going to be my cautious, don't take any unnecessary risks, semi-paranoid New York self but I am going to be more aware of the opportunities to try something new. And new it was. I've never went out after a blizzard let alone with three children. But we actually managed to have a lot of fun with it.

Luckily my husband understands my need for grabbing the moment and he helped me bundle up the kiddies and we trudged it through the piles of snow because the city did not plow through Queens at all and walked to the train station. Do not even ask me how I got down the stairs to the train. Okay who am I kidding. when you share an adventure with someone, share all of it right? I went down on my rear! Yeap. It's true. They didn't clean that area either and honestly if I didn't I may have risked breaking something so that was a first (and last!).  But we made it through, the kids and I laughed the whole time. They loved the adventure of it all.

The trains were on time and surprisingly full. We made it to the Film Forum by the skin of our teeth. Ethan Hawke was already inside the theater awaiting to watch the film with the rest of us. Ethan Hawke. Yeap. See why I had to trudge it through the snow. We made it all the way down into the city (Manhattan) and I previously purchased tickets for us all to see Explorers (1985) on the big screen. The movie meant a lot to be as a kid and seeing it on the big screen was just as magical as I hoped it would be.

New Yorkers are odd ducks when it comes to celebrities and such. We tend to ignore them even though we are shopping for groceries right next to say, Julianne Moore so everyone walked out of the theater not waiting for Ethan Hawke (the star of that film, his first) and weren't even phased by it. But you see I trudged through insane amounts of snow with three small kids and with my disability I had to be extra careful, two trains later, and walking through Manhattan to get to see him. I just couldn't let this opportunity pass up especially because of all the birthdays I've had, to me this is the most special.

I wore my birthday crown from Crown and Glory and people were so nice to wish me a Happy Birthday. The kids were confused to why I was waiting but my usually shy husband even chimed in and got Mr. Hawke's attention. I got a chance to tell him how much that film meant to me. Although he said he found to film to be a weird one, to me it was about adventure. About daring to do what people wished they could but were too afraid to do it. He graciously took a photo with me and was so kind. I think the birthday crown helped.

Afterwards we went to Tea and Sympathy, my favorite restaurant in the city and although it was an hour wait in the cold, I knew every morsel would be worth it (don't worry, the kids were kept warm in another area). The food was as scrumptious as it usually is and it was the first time I took my whole family. I've taken my husband and once my youngest but not everyone together. And I am happy to say they all love English food and each has asked to come back. Whoot!
A Vintage Nerd, 40th Birthday Celebration, Tea & Sympathy

A Vintage Nerd, 40th Birthday Celebration, Tea & Sympathy
A Vintage Nerd, 40th Birthday Celebration, Tea & Sympathy
We made it back to Queens safely but we were all very cold and cranky. It really was an adventure of a lifetime. Trudging through the snow with children and using public transportation is not something we do everyday and my husband and I both agreed this was an adventure that will never be repeated again but at least we did it! My first day of my 40's and I truly started it out with a proper bang.

I then came home to presents, some neat decor my husband put up for me earlier, and a cake we bought at Tea & Sympathy. My biggest gift is actually going to be traveling to the UK this fall. I haven't been back in a few years and I am so excited that its actually going to happen! I will share more of that in the months to come.

Turning 40 for me has really reminded me that there is no better time than the now to seize the day. As Professor John Keating said to his students in Dead Poets Society, Carpe Diem, Sieze the Day.

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7 comments :

  1. Happy birthday! I know 40 is a big one, and you really celebrated in style. I'm a bit jealous you saw Ethan Hawke, the most famous person I've ever seen is Angelina Jolie's stunt double. :P I'm very impressed that you pushed through with your plans, even though the weather was against you!

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  2. Welcome to 40!!! I hit 40 in November and I have loved it, so far. There is in inner peace that has been building in me over the last few years and I really feel that being 40 is a big part of it. Like this is the goal, I am finally here and it is fabulous. Even when the world isn't perfect (or far from it) there is now a calm. I hope you enjoy this time in your life.

    She Knits in Pearls

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  3. Happy birthday!! I'm so glad you had such a good time :) xx

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  4. Happiest of birthdays, dear!
    Your milestone is a decade ahead of mine, but I too am feeling the "pressure" of being 30 - it's the darn statistics that is making a havoc in my head... all those ridiculous "things you need to do before you're 30" kind of things.
    Have you had the odd feeling about those kind of things? Have you questioned your life's achievements?!

    M.

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  5. Happy birthday! How brave to persist through the snow, but it sounds like a lovely day and totally worth it.

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  6. Happy belated birthday! Sounds like you had a lovely day!

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  7. Sorry this is late but Happy bday keep being your glorious unique self

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