Go shawty, it’s your birthday !
You gon’ party like it’s your birthday !
April 12th was the big day! I turned 39! My bonus daughter told me to enjoy the last year of my youth (Insert side eye here). I’ve never been a party person so my thought of “turning up” was a relaxing weekend in LA with my family.
LA is one of my favorite places to go and the fact that it’s only a five hour drive, or an hour by plane is huge! Booked in advance you can catch $29 flights through Southwest Airlines.
I worked on my actual birthday, and on Friday the 13th we drove down. As soon as we made it, I felt home. Have you ever felt like you belonged somewhere? LA is that place for me, it speaks to my soul. Saturday morning we got up, grabbed Burger Lounge (one of my faves) https://www.burgerlounge.com/locations/location-larchmont and headed to Venice. Venice is colorful, eclectic, and great for people watching. Muscle beach, basketball courts, and street performers everywhere you look. I call it Hippie Hideout. It was beautiful. I sat in the sand and watched my youngest play in the ocean. No rushing, no deadlines, no emails, just enjoying and existing.
Did I mention it was in the 80’s all weekend? Absolutely gorgeous!
On Sunday morning we got up bright and early and headed to Universal Studios. I was excited and apprehensive at the same time because they have rides. My boys will ride any and everything, and I used to…Fact: the closer I get to 40 the more anxiety I feel when standing in line for a rollercoaster or ride. Not to mention, anything that spins or goes faster than a carousel leaves me dizzy for two days! We purchased express passes for the day and I would definitely recommend it if you want to skip the lines and head to the front. We purchased tickets through our credit union and saved a few coins. I rode everything and y’all, that Mummy ride almost took me smooth out! Last two rides of the day in Harry Potter world, I was benched. We also did the studio tram tour. We got to see where movies and tv shows are filmed. It was that moment that I realized I should be on TV lol. We had a blast! We went back to our hotel, my youngest swam, ate his dinner and told me he didn’t feel well.
My youngest suffers from chronic migraines and stomach issues so I was thinking, maybe this is just the usual. He told me he was having pain in his private area, well my youngest is 12 so y’all know I had to ask… needless to say, it wasn’t that so I called the advice nurse described his symptoms, and she said, “if you can’t get to the hospital in 30 minutes or less, call 911”. Umm okay. Y’all I went into full urgent mommy mode while remaining 100% calm. We arrived at the hospital in 10 minutes after I hung up with the nurse. We spent the night in the hospital while out of town. Our night of rest and relaxation turned into a medical emergency. Here is where growth showed up. The old me would have panicked and allowed that experience to overshadow all the good that had happened up until that point, but in that moment I let God handle what I couldn’t control. In that moment I was thankful for
1. The hospital that I work for was around the corner.
2. What they thought he had wasn’t what he actually had and surgery was avoided.
3. Medical insurance and a $25 emergency copay.
4. My oldest son who sat with us all night and was ever so helpful.
5. My youngest while lying in that hospital bed in excruciating pain and vomiting asked for prayer and he, myself, and my oldest son held hands and prayed for his healing!
6. An amazing physician and awesome nurses who were amazing and patient with my scared son.
7. The fact that all test came back fine!
8. Being discharged and not admitted.
9. He slept all the way home.
10. So glad that I know it ain’t always what it looks like.
My birthday was absolutely amazing!
Until next time…❤️
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