reflections at 42

today is audre lorde and toni morrison’s birthday. aquarius season is ending. pisces season begins. tomorrow is my birthday. it is the third one of the pandemic. we all know pandemic birthdays are different. i have spent the past two with my parents and brother. we have new editions, adding my nibling last year and soon, my brother’s girlfriend. each passing one we have a tradition of allowing the birthday person to choose a place to eat. if you grew up working class, you know the list of restaurants that are considered “fancy” places to eat. they’ve changed slightly as i got older. as a kid, it was red lobster was the standard of fine dining but in general, eating out was an expensive treat. now, lubbock and amarillo have grown in population, and texas roadhouse is by far the most popular place to eat dinner. all i really want is a nice glass of wine - none of these spots care about wine. which sent me back to the birthday the year of 2020.