Disclaimer: By the time this newsletter drops in your inbox or whichever platform you’re reading this from, my birthday would have been a few days old because I didn’t publish this on my birthday which was June 12. But still, June is June (My birth month) so I can still say happy birthday to me.
Birthdays are special days where we receive the most attention and love in the world because it's the day our precious moms brought us into this beautiful, yet sometimes cruel, world. It's a special day, and it's definitely worth celebrating.
As for me, I’m not a big fan of birthdays. In short that day, I just wanted to be left alone, to reminisce on the good and the bad and be thankful that I’m alive. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when my people call to express how much I mean to them. Their messages, calls, and gifts remind me of how special I am and it makes me blush, but when it gets too much, I get scared and overwhelmed.
I remember the night before my birthday, I was chatting with my friend Kay about how I might disappear from social media or switch off my phone because I was already feeling birthday anxiety. But then, it came, I saw it and I conquered it, lol.
My Typical Birthday Celebration
Let me walk you through what a typical birthday celebration for me looks like, maybe then you'll understand my point.
As the clock strikes midnight on June 12, I already know it's about to get so busy so I switched off my phone to get a good night's sleep. I wake up for my tahajud (my prayer) to have a one-on-one session with my Rabb (my Lord), and then go back to sleep and wake up again for Fajr prayer (Morning prayer).
After fajr, I brace myself for incoming calls and messages. The first call is always from someone special to me. If it's not my mum (when I'm not home, she prays for hours and calls her fellow Asalatu women and my Malim to pray for me), it’s my big sisters, close friends, toasters, crushes, or my girls but this time that I’m home, and it’s not an Asalatu day, my mum and siblings graced my day with their songs and prayers, which lasted for roughly 45 minutes.
P.S. If there's one thing I love and cherish more than anything in this world, it's my mum. My love for her is so pure and unconditional. I love you, mummy, and thank you for everything.
From one call to another, my phone wouldn't stop buzzing. I missed some calls, and I know some people got angry. As hectic as the day was, I didn't bother calling back, but I hoped they'd understand me sha and if not, (I’m on my knees oo). Then there's the green app (WhatsApp) filled with pictures of me, long heartfelt messages, and endless "May you, may you" captions. LOL, (that cracked me up) The constant notifications, messages, and everything in between are exhausting because they don’t stop for a whole 24 hours. Omooo, that’s a lot "O su mi wallahi but I enjoyed it sha." It was a mixed feeling for me that day.
Now let’s talk about the girls, oh my days, I love these babes. It’s an unavoidable girl squad (We used to be 5 but now 3. Married women thingy but we are still cool sha) with a scream and a chorus of “Happy Birthday Idan.” We laughed, argued, and caught up on the good old times, and yes, they reminded me of, “When are you getting married? When will you introduce him to us? I’m sure he’s cute, so why are you hiding him?” I’ve been hearing these words for over two years non-stop. Omo, the pressure from friends is more intense than from family, but I enjoy their company and the jokes and beautiful words that come with it.
After talking with them for hours, there are calls from strange numbers, people I haven’t spoken to in a long time and the most amazing thing is their gifts, which are mostly money (I love money so much) because it means enjoying myself without spending my own money. So, permit me to say that my birthdays are days I cash out big time and all this merriment continues for a whole 24 hours.
On a normal day, I’m a selective call picker. In as much as I love attention, I prefer it from a selected set of people. Once I have achieved that, my dear, that's enough, and I’m content with it. So getting it from a large number of people is crazy and exhausting for me. If you’re reading this, just know that I appreciate your effort in making my day special. The calls, shoutouts, messages, gifts, money, and all are greatly appreciated, and I love you ❤️.
A Memorable Birthday Surprise
The night before my birthday, my special person sent a reel saying, "Should I sponsor your birthday staycation? but the catch was I had to go alone because he was busy and unsure when he’d be free. He said he wanted my birthday to be beautiful and wanted to be a part of it. While listening to his words, I blushed for hours before I could respond to him. A solo staycation sounded nice, but I decided to wait until he could join me because that would be super fun than going alone. He’s my buddy and we spent most of our time creating good memories, and because I wanted premium fun with someone I cherish so why not wait? So we agreed to postpone it and called it a night.
On D-day, I received a call from a strange number saying I have a package for you and for a second, I paused to ask him if he was sure he called the right number and he said “I am asked to deliver this cake to Neeroh” is that not you? I said lobatan (E don finish) I dressed up and stepped out to find him. On my way to him, I thought about who could have sent this and his name came running to my mind. Teeeeee!!! It’s Tee. Yes, it’s him and yes it was him, and my heart was filled with joy and happiness. Thank you, Tee. My day was beautiful
My birthday cake arrived with the caption "Happy birthday, Neroh billions (In case you don’t know, I’m a billionaire in the making so don’t bill me now but come later in the future, lol) That was the highlight of my birthday this year. For me, it’s not about how big or small your gift is, it’s the intention that counts. I love how someone can be so thoughtful, intentional, and caring without you even asking for anything. That’s my kind of person. This is me saying thank you Tee, take all my love ❤️.
Cheers to Twenty-Somethings: My Year of Daring and Getting Things Done
Here are a few things I want to focus on because this is my year of daring and making things happen:
Show up for myself
Do things unafraid and be more intentional about my growth
Love more and spend time with loved ones
Read more books, write more, and take my life seriously
Work harder, get the bag, and enjoy my life
Pray more
Eat a lot of food and exercise more
Go on countless adventures
Document my life
Dance, play, and sing more
Go bowling and hike
Do dangerous good things
Worry less
Live life to the fullest because tomorrow isn’t promised
To everyone who made my day beautiful, refreshing, and sweet, thank you so much. I love you all.
To all my imaginary audience/readers, thanks for reading. Please, like, drop a comment & Subscribe, it’s free! Help my life.
Till I write to you next time, take all my love ❤️❤️
Your friend in Moments & Musings
Muneeroh ❤️
Happy belated Birthday!