How 19+ People Helped Make My Birthday Wish Come True
Table of Contents
My Birthday Wish
This year, my birthday wish was to bring people together.
Can we spend time together for a reason other than a holiday, birthday, engagement, wedding, graduation, or even a funeral?
How about hanging out just for the sake of hanging out? Maybe with people I haven’t seen in a while?
…How about brunch?
Brunch sounds perfect.
The More the Merrier
In the beginning, I questioned if people would find it weird to receive a random invitation from someone they hadn’t heard from in upwards of 6 years.
However, if the purpose of brunch was to bring people together, then it made sense to extend an invite to anyone who might be interested and available. Deep down, I also secretly hoped (and prayed) that even the long-shot invitees might come.
70 invitations(!) and a few “Yes” responses later, my birthday wish was on its way to coming true.
Brunch: A Real-Life Commitment
All commitments, including casual brunches, require brain power, time, and effort.
Before saying “Yes” to brunch, people probably…
- Checked their calendar
- Potentially rearranged some activities
- Google mapped the travel logistics (and determine whether or not brunch was within a reasonable distance)
After someone said “Yes”, they may have…
- Cooked a dish
- Mentally prepared to socialize for several hours
- (Obviously) spent time traveling to and from brunch
For this reason, it was super important that brunch was advertised as a casual, no frills, low-key kind of event. Once they arrived, I wanted people to feel comfortable to just come, relax, and enjoy the day together.
Not including travel or pre-brunch preparation, more than ONE HUNDRED human hours were spent relaxing, laughing, reconnecting with each other on a blissfully perfect Sunday afternoon.
Eeeek!!
The Small Moments
It warmed my heart to see so many happy people together in one place… slicing watermelon with floss. Getting giddy over ice cream. Playing outside. Sitting cross-legged on the floor and catching up with “old” friends.
Being present.
There were so many other tiny surprises, details, and gestures, that made the entire day so special:
- Picture-perfect weather
- Lush green trees
- Serendipitous mingling
- Delicious homemade food: Pico de gallo, banana bread, chocolate cookies, cucumber sandwiches, and donuts galore
- Super thoughtful birthday presents (even though I didn’t tell anyone it was my birthday)
- HUGS! – I’m not a hugger, but I loved hugging everyone and saying, “I’m so happy to see you.” It was pretty surreal to hear my doorbell ring and see a friend on my doorstep who had traveled all the way from San Francisco, Boston, Philly, New York City, and all over the wonderful state of New Jersey.
- Sparkles!
The warmth, consideration, and joy was completely overwhelming.
If you attended, I hope you felt it too.
Thank you to every single human being who graciously wore a name tag and helped make my birthday wish come true.
#Romantic
