How the Annual Birthday Lunch got Started

   I couldn't decide what I was going to write about today. I decided that I would ask Scamp what he thought, He's got good taste and he's been hanging around me for the past several hours hoping that I will give him a treat.
  I thought I might write about the recent release of hacked information from a website for people who want to arrange extramarital affairs. I was thinking of musing (or ranting) about how no one seems to care about the amount of damage that something like that can do. If a public figure can be caught and unveiled as a hypocrite everyone is happy. No one cares about the spouse, children and family of the person who has just been exposed.
  My other option was to write about how I started hosting the Annual Birthday Lunch which will take place later this week. Scamp told me that I had done quite a bit of ranting the past few weeks and that readers would probably prefer something more positive. Colby chimed in to let me know that he agreed with Scamp. I decided that they had a point.
  When I was younger and single I used to spend my birthday indulging myself in something I would not usually do. I would treat myself to a pedicure or a facial. One time I even indulged in a make-up lesson. I liked to spend the day doing whatever I wanted to do. Sometimes I would spend the morning reading a good book. I would sit out on the deck with a pot of tea. I would drive around and stop at places I'd never been before.
  One thing I always had was a birthday cake. This is an absolute. I must have cake on my birthday. Sometimes I would bake it myself. Sometimes I would order it from a bakery if I lived near a good one. I would always share my cake.
  This was partly because I couldn't eat a whole cake, even a small one by myself. Since I can't bear to waste food, it seemed more practical to share it.
  I loved planning how my cake would be decorated. Over the years my cakes have been decorated with flowers, a teapot and a clown face. It was always fun for me to bring in the cake and cut slices for all my coworkers.
  It got to the point where I realized that I enjoyed sharing more than I enjoyed indulging myself. Since I'm always grateful for another year of life, sharing my cake felt like sharing my good fortune with others.
  Somehow I started asking someone to have lunch with me. I would always pick up the tab and never mention that it was my birthday. I didn't want anyone to think that they needed to treat me. It felt good to do this.
  Eventually it evolved to what it is now. Every year I choose a different spot asking for input of  some of my friends. Every year I dress up a little. One year I wore a big navy blue polka dot hat. Since then I always wear a hat to the lunch. The only thing I ask of those attending is that they wear something that makes them feel pretty and that they allow me to pick up the check.
 Sometimes after lunch we walk around the area near where we have eaten. We've walked around Hudson, Stillwater and St. Paul. Last year C and I sang "Darn It Baby, That's Love" in downtown St. Paul at the end of the post lunch walk.
  Sometimes I think about the years that I had pedicures and facials. I think about birthdays where I spent the morning in my pajamas. I don't really miss those days. I have so much fun at the lunches that I look forward to them every August. It's a good way to spend a birthday.