When I was Twenty-One...
I realized during a conversation with a coworker today that since I'm tuning 31 on Friday, it has been TEN YEARS since my 21st birthday. The same coworker wanted to know if I was doing anything on my birthday, and I said yes, the usual family stuff...and then he said, "Wait, so you never go OUT for your birthday ON your birthday?"
And I said that no, I usually didn't, but there was this one time...
On my 21st birthday I was at the usual family gathering at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Clinton. I'm pretty sure I'd had some kind of argument with my mom or something earlier in the evening, because I was in a Mood, and when she and my dad got ready to leave around ten (she was working the night shift then), I figured I'd just go home then and mope.
And then my cousin Jack said, "Wait, where are YOU going?"
"Home."
"No you're not. It's your birthday. We're going out."
I was a little apprehensive given that he'd taken his younger sister out for her 21st and she'd been hugging the toilet by 8PM. But I figured hey. it beat going home, and how bad could it get in two hours? (The bars closed at 12 for midnight mass.) So in short order I found myself at some bar in Clinton (to this day I can't remember which) with Jack and his friend Matt, who was the son of one of my aunt's friends and who I'd known since I was a toddler.
So we hung out there for a while, with them telling random strangers it was my birthday and buying me lots of drinks. I didn't get embarrassingly drunk or sick but I was certainly in no shape to drive home. So imagine my surprise when we go outside at midnight and Jack gets in his cars and drives away.
And there I was on the corner with Matt. Um...ok.
Now, let me be clear- I don;t remember this clearly and I don't think Jack meant to ditch me or anything. I just remember being totally confused. And then Matt just said, "Well, I guess you're sleeping on my mom's couch. Let's go."
So we went. And when we got to his mom's house, she was awake and on the phone (I think with a west coast relative). And I waved hi, went into the bathroom, and immediately heard this:
"Matthew! Don't you DARE! She is KATHY'S NIECE!"
"Mom. MOM. Relax. Jack left and she just needs somewhere to sleep."
So his mom apparently thought he had "plans". Ha.
The story doesn't have that great of an ending- I crashed there and went home the next morning without incident. But I am just kind of amused that this Friday is the 10th Anniversary of that One Time When I Got Left on a Corner in Clinton.
If you're all nice I might tell the story of my 25th birthday sometime. That one is actually pretty juicy.
And I said that no, I usually didn't, but there was this one time...
On my 21st birthday I was at the usual family gathering at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Clinton. I'm pretty sure I'd had some kind of argument with my mom or something earlier in the evening, because I was in a Mood, and when she and my dad got ready to leave around ten (she was working the night shift then), I figured I'd just go home then and mope.
And then my cousin Jack said, "Wait, where are YOU going?"
"Home."
"No you're not. It's your birthday. We're going out."
I was a little apprehensive given that he'd taken his younger sister out for her 21st and she'd been hugging the toilet by 8PM. But I figured hey. it beat going home, and how bad could it get in two hours? (The bars closed at 12 for midnight mass.) So in short order I found myself at some bar in Clinton (to this day I can't remember which) with Jack and his friend Matt, who was the son of one of my aunt's friends and who I'd known since I was a toddler.
So we hung out there for a while, with them telling random strangers it was my birthday and buying me lots of drinks. I didn't get embarrassingly drunk or sick but I was certainly in no shape to drive home. So imagine my surprise when we go outside at midnight and Jack gets in his cars and drives away.
And there I was on the corner with Matt. Um...ok.
Now, let me be clear- I don;t remember this clearly and I don't think Jack meant to ditch me or anything. I just remember being totally confused. And then Matt just said, "Well, I guess you're sleeping on my mom's couch. Let's go."
So we went. And when we got to his mom's house, she was awake and on the phone (I think with a west coast relative). And I waved hi, went into the bathroom, and immediately heard this:
"Matthew! Don't you DARE! She is KATHY'S NIECE!"
"Mom. MOM. Relax. Jack left and she just needs somewhere to sleep."
So his mom apparently thought he had "plans". Ha.
The story doesn't have that great of an ending- I crashed there and went home the next morning without incident. But I am just kind of amused that this Friday is the 10th Anniversary of that One Time When I Got Left on a Corner in Clinton.
If you're all nice I might tell the story of my 25th birthday sometime. That one is actually pretty juicy.