I had not one but two birthday celebrations this past week. I know that sounds excessive, but the second was a joint bash with my best friend from college. He'd hired a cover band to play at one of his favorite bars, and since his birthday is the day after mine, he invited me to come and bring my friends. So I doubled up the evite guest list and came ready to party.
Remember the needy girl I described who is lacking in the social skills area? Before our party was to begin, I get a call from her. Not only is she already at the party venue, but she has come straight from the airport and has her large suitcase in tow. At a bar. On a Friday night. Meanwhile I'm in the middle of having dinner with my friend. Ay yay yay. Anyway, it all ended up being fine but not exactly the fun beginning to the evening I was looking for.
Once I had a few drinks (mostly purchased by my awesome friends!) and the band started playing, I was getting into the party spirit and dancing like a crazy person. SCL, on the other hand, was not. This is not surprising. SCL is an uber introvert and prefers playing trivia in a small group than standing in the middle of a crowded bar. I can't really blame him--in fact, if it hadn't been my birthday, I probably would've felt similarly. My birthday buddy's group of friends is a bit on the douchey side, and for the first part of the night they dominated the crowd.
At around midnight, SCL said he wanted to go home. A few months ago this would've bothered me a lot. I used to think we needed to come and go together to things like this, and I may have thought, "Ok, then I'll go home, too." But this was my party, and a lot of my friends were still there. I didn't want to go home! SCL said he'd wait up for me, so I kissed him good-bye and went on dancing without him.
When I got home, he was, in true SCL form, watching Star Trek. Classic. We both sat down with a hunk of that delicious chocolate birthday cake and stayed up into the wee hours of the morning. I'm seeing that I don't need SCL by my side all the time to have fun. In fact, there are times when it's more fun to be by myself. And I'm also learning that just because SCL doesn't dance like a crazy person, that doesn't mean he wasn't having a good time. So, he and I are different. A lot different. But at the end of the night, he's the one I want to have cake with.
One of the things that I am STILL learning is that the hubby and I can have fun separately. I used to hate going anywhere if I didn't have him by my side. However, I've learned to love the times when I'm off doing things on my own. Don't get me wrong, I love to be with him too, but sometimes it's nice to realize that you are still your own person.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great birthday! You're making me excited for my own in a few months!
What a sweet post :)) My boy and I are both extroverts though, so it's usually no problem :))
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Hoping to hear from you soon, sweetie!
xxx
This could have been me and my bf (except I'm the one who would have wanted to leave). In fact, this has happened to us before and still does. I don't like bars; the loud music, lots of people, too hot, too strange etc. I just do NOT feel comfortable in a bar At. All. So I just leave before he does. No problems. No hard feelings. No nothing. It's great!! I'm glad you had such a good time with and without SCL. It's always good to have some fun on your own. WOOT for birthdays.
ReplyDeleteThis post is so beautiful. I'm loving a) the introverted partner; b) the beautiful, extroverted woman; c) the way you're seeming to make peace with it; and d) the thought of chocolate cake. In fact, now I want some. I must have some. Maybe the introverted hubs will make that happen. :)
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