Birthday Adventure: Fort Myers, FL

I’m 36.

Yes, I just started a post this way because I dont believe in slowly taking off a bandage but instead ripping it off quickly. Admitting that I am closer to my 40s than 30s is tough for me.

I can sit here all day and cheer on those who say age is nothing but a number but I cannot do it for myself. It is just a number but it is also a ticking biological clock, societal and cultural pressures, and well major changes to the body. It is a number that is really starting to screw with me.

For my recent birthday, I headed south to Florida to spend time with my sister and mother. Thanks to Spirit Air, we found a super duper cheap flight and made the trip from Baltimore to Fort Myers, FL for some fun in the sun. I had all intentions on being a total beach bum on my actual birthday (March 2) but time got the best of us and we deviated from the plan. Instead we strolled through the Edison Estates area, took pictures and found the cutest vintage shop and shopped till we dropped.

All in all my birthday adventure in Fort Myers was nothing short of amazing.

Before I let yall go, I want to speak on Paris Antique Market. This is the vintage store that we happened to pop in on and spent nearly an hour perusing. It was rooms upon rooms of every vintage item possible. From cameras, to Schiaparelli hats, to authentic Japanese kimonos (my sis got one), to furniture and sports memorabilia, Jermaine, Claud and I had an absolute blast. If you are ever in Southwest Florida, this is must stop. The owners are so nice and the items are simply fantastic!

I purchased the most BAD ASS of sequin jackets, a pair of sunnies and some card holders and Claud gifted me with this white tux jacket that fits me like a dream. A Japanese kimono and sunglasses were her newly copped items and Jermaine got the dopest of olive green wool hats. Yes, Ill be borrowing it with the quickness.

After shopping, we stopped by the Edison Estate area to take some photos on the grounds. We all fell in love with the Estate trees and snapped a million pics there. Me being the scaredy cat, had some stress dealing with all the lizards crawling around but the mantra of “do it for the pic” kept me from giving up.

This was the first birthday that I have spent with my sister and mother in nearly a decade. After all the recent deaths in my family, it was imperative that I start a new year with my peeps. Speaking of peeps….. I purposely did not place “reminders” on social media about my birthday and realized that without those, my closest and best friends completely forgot about my day. Although far from being intentional, it did show me how much we all rely on various social media platforms to remind us of our loved ones special days. I believe we all should take queues from our elders and start adding things to calendars. ME included! Because.. Black Mirrors. lol. We are going to live and die by social media.

The next day, we made it to the beach. And I rocked by birthday suit one piece that I ordered from Amazon! I was hesitant about a baywatch-esque swimsuit but once I put it on I realized why that style has withstood the test of time. It just flatters, no matter what.

I am truly grateful and oh so thankful for those who offered me blessings and calls on my birthday. I even had a reader (who did not even know it was my b-day) offer to send me funds to help get me to Essence Fest this year because she felt it was something that I truly needed to experience. Yeah, I’m pretty cash poor but I have faith that my hard work will eventually pan out for me 🙂 So I never, ever want to take away from those who celebrated me on my day and well celebrate me other days as well.

Lesson to be learned-

I urge everyone reading to do something so small. The same way we place events on our calendar, let us all add important dates of our loved ones on there as well. Having a sixteen candles moment and having your birthday forgotten really does hurt. Yes, I was with my family. Yes, I had an unbelievably fantastic day but there was always that cloud of only having 2 of your 6 closest friends remember it. It hurts. It makes you feel as if maybe just maybe, if you are not in someone’s face all the time that they will forget you.

Birthdays are the only holidays that I am truly “into”. It is the only time that I want to be celebrated and spoiled and loved on HARD. My family who understands this about me, certainly made it special. But unfortunately….This birthday alot of my friends let me down. And again, I know it wasn’t intentional but does not mean it didn’t hurt any less. I’m sure I have forgotten birthdays before. And I now know how it feels. So I won’t let it happen again.

I went in and put every single one of my closest friends b-days on my calendar. I mean I also know them by heart but life gets busy and I never want to not acknowledge them on THEIR day. But friendships lately are different…. I have a post about it coming out soon. It was a tough one to write but it was written before this post and just makes so much sense.

And yes…… I’m starting 36 being vulnerable and honest.

Welcome to Jen Jean-Pierre.com