Petty, I can be petty.

So, twice in my life I’ve had my birthday forgotten.

Once, by my father.  Yes, you read that correctly.  In retrospect, it’s funny, but of course, at the time, I was like “holy crap, it’s that Molly Ringworm movie for real!”  I hadn’t heard anything from him all day, which I thought was odd, and that night I called him and said, “So, um, did you forget something today?”

There was a long pause, and then, in that patient, long-suffering Archie Bunker way he had, my father said, “Oh, jeez, yeah, happy birthday.  Come down tomorrow and I’ll write you a check.”

I mean, yeah, the check is nice, but seriously?  YOU FORGOT?  I don’t remember which birthday it was, but I think his health was starting to fail (it was definitely when I lived in Latham)  He probably had a lot on his mind, but man, a parent forgetting a birthday, that hits you right out of the blue.

And then, work…everyone who works in an office signs all the birthday and retirement and good luck cards that circulate.  It’s ritualistic.  Until your birthday is the one forgotten.

Ok, I understand, during some electronic conversions, they were lost from where they were saved on the calendars.  But someone else’s birthday was forgotten a month or two before, and when that was discovered, no less than 4 homemade (ie, printed) cards were passed around to make it up.

Me?  Nope.  It was more like, “Oh, well.  Sorry.  Too bad.”

Kind of smacks of favoritism.  Certainly doesn’t make me feel like a valued member of a team.  Especially when in the following weeks, more birthday cards start making the rounds.

Am I being petty?  Sure.  Really, these past few months have sucked.  Not the Texas part, but the rest.  So I’m entitled to be fucking petty about something.  I got cheated out of summer…ok, not everyone adores heat like me, but still.  Labor Day is this weekend, and it’s done nothing but rain.  I had my air conditioner on…ONCE.  One night.  ALL SUMMER.  And one of my favorite things about late August?  The sound of crickets and peeper frogs as I go to sleep.

Haven’t heard them at all, unless I use the ambient sounds from my Echo Dot.  So, if you don’t believe in climate change…I’m telling you, everything about this summer was wrong.  And all my friends are like “YAY FALL PUMPKIN EVERYTHING!”  while I huddle in the corner going “but I’m cold, it’s cold, I don’t want to close the windows but I need to turn the heat on and OMG SNOW IS COMING”.

I think part of my problem, because I’m slipping back into a bit of a funk, is the above.  Depression…mine anyway, no two are alike….is largely vitamin D, and I hate milk.  I was doing better before, when I was more conscientious of taking my multi every day.  Or in Texas, where it was warm and sunny and I had people who treated my like gold at my side (people who remembered my birthday, for example).  The onset of fall doesn’t help.

So there are my issues.  Ok, more like my subscription.  But yes, I’m entitled to be petty.  I was forgotten, and no one (in that environment, clearly my other friends cared) cared.  That’s fine.  I’ll try to stop caring, too, because really, I’m stretched too thin and I can’t deal with any more.

On the up side, would love to see smiling shining faces here, at the Con.  Small, but a lot of variety, very cool venue (revamped church!), and just a good time.

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