Expensive champagne, food, a pink hat, lilies that smelled of cinnamon. A roaring toy dinosaur, roses, a big surprise party. Kitsch vases from the secondhand shops, pictures from my childhood, stories from my wild youth, a unicorn, a weird teddybear lamp. Friends who said loving words and laughed at my jokes and knew my passions and quirks.
So much for spending my birthday alone. I have never in my life felt so seen and known and loved.