A Year Wiser

Today I am 34 years old - my second birthday in London. It 's been wonderful!

On Friday, I went to see my first live mainstream concert - Maroon 5. The cool thing was that the venue was a 10 minute walk from my house. Afterwards, we went to our neighborhood highstreet and had a drink at 63rd and Social, one of the local lounges.

Saturday, Alicia hosted a girls nite out at her flat. We share the same birthday so we decided to have a joint celebration. Our friend Crystal brought this delicious cake from Chinatown. A proper birthday celebration. It was so much fun being surrounded by the friends that I have made here.

Sunday, Sandra hosted brunch at her flat with some of our friends. She had a nice spread. Cinnamon muffins, eggs, british bacon, strawberries, walnut bread from our favorite brunch place. She also made pancakes with the Aunt Jemima pancake mix she brought back from Canada and we drank mimosas all afternoon. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Then a special friend cooked me a nice Sunday roast for dinner. It was the perfect weekend.

Today, I took the day off and will pamper myself with a facial and a massage at a spa in Notting Hill. This will be my first spa experience in London. Then I am going to meet up with my friend Helen for dinner.

I've asked myself, what is so different than all the other years....And the answer is not much.

I write this all in a good way. As I grow older, I've come to stop searching for the next best thing and be satisfied with what I have. I've realized that the best birthday celebrations involve being around the people that make you happy. It feels really good to be in a comfortable place within yourself - to know who you are, what makes you happy and where you want to be. Most importantly to be happy with the simple things in life.

With all my great fortune, I still can't help but feel a little sad today. Today was always a special day for me and my mom. We'd always take the day off from work and we'd do go shopping, to dinner at Lalo's or the Ale House, or get a manicure or a massage. She'd wake me up at 7:11a.m. on the dot to wish me a happy birthday and tell me the story about my birth.

My mom will always live within me but like I said, it's just the simple things that make you happy and you come to appreciate.