Birthday week

A long birthday week. It all started in Chicago for business. I usually dread these 5-day trips away from family but Chicago is such a great city it made it more bearable.

I got to walk in Millenium Park and see some pretty cool video installations. There were these two screens about two or three stories high facing each other. Crazy.We also went to see Billy Elliott, which was visually amazing. I forgot how much I love live theater.

Finally, I got to visit the Art Institute, but for a really short period of time. I wish I could have had a full day there.


All week, everyone kept asking what I was going to do for my birthday. I had no plans but to be home after a week away. So we went to see Shrek in 3D, walked around Lake Merritt and played in the playgrounds along the way.

We went to Little Shin Shin's for dinner and came home for a chocolate cake.

I ended the evening watching Planet of The Apes with BZ. He bought me the full series on DVD, sweet.
One of the themes in Shrek was about appreciating what you have. The movie wasn't so good but thematically it hit me hard. Sometimes the everyday can be difficult, frustrating, boring, stressful...fill in the blank. And, its very easy to dream back to "before all this...". So today, post trip, post birthday, I may be dreading the preschool birthday party that looms ahead of us...but what's the alternative? Not having these kids? Not being with BZ?

When I was single, I dreamed of meeting someone, I dreamed of having kids. I also dreamed of saving the world. And now, I sometimes fantasize of the glory that is being single, the freedom mainly to do whatever I wanted to do....I suppose that's life, really. We cannot have it all. Or, we need to redefine "all." I still dream of saving the world but it might have to wait a bit.