Celebrating
Even though I practise extreme minimalism, I still celebrate various occasions. I love celebrating my birthday. I'm as excited about it now in my 30s as I was when I was little. My grandmother, who is approaching her 90s, feels the same way about her birthday, too. And I love Valentine's Day. Perhaps it would have been more in line with my anti-consumerist stance to boycott Valentine's Day, to treat it as any other day. But I believe that it's possible to celebrate something without engaging in consumerism. And to still have a magical time. Valentine's Day is special to me not only because of its association with love (not necessarily only romantic love, but love towards friends too - in Finland where I used to live). It's the day my partner proposed to me, which was a big step for us. Both of us had been in long-term relationships before. Making a serious, long-term commitment to a fellow human again felt, for a long time, vulnerable to us. Fellow humans often say that I could still boycott Valentine's Day (due to its association with consumerism) and celebrate love on another day. I celebrate love (towards myself, fellow humans, non-humans and nature) very often. Every day. My partner and I celebrate the day we became a couple too, and will be celebrating our wedding day as well.
February is the coldest month here in Denmark, and after months of grey and cold weather, celebrating something in a tiny constellation of our family is enchanting and cosy. In my personal experience, Christmas entails much more gift-giving and consumption because there are several young children in my extended family who receive gifts from all family members.
I celebrated my birthday with my partner and our yet unborn baby. One of our new year's resolutions is to avoid going out. Yet, for my birthday, I chose to go to a local café for a coffee and a croissant. It's wonderful to observe how such moments become special when they are rare. I didn't have a birthday cake.
As gifts from my family members, I received beautiful text messages. Mother Nature gave me a few new strands of magical Grey Hair that I love. I saw them just in time for my birthday, and I felt so much joy. My partner once asked me when my mother started to go grey. I simply didn't know what to say. She began to dye her hair as soon as the first silver strands appeared. I don't remember what she looked like with her natural hair colour.
My partner gave me a large linen shirt that he hopes I can wear in the third trimester. It looks exactly the same as the shirt that wore out some months ago and that I haven't replaced (though it has shorter sleeves). Usually I give to charity all the new (new to me, it could be second-hand) clothing that I receive because I feel that I have enough. I decided to keep the shirt for a while to see if it is useful later in my pregnancy. Currently I live with only one linen shirt, which is lagom.
For my birthday dinner, I made a pasta dish, one of my favourites. I don't follow any particular recipe when I make pasta dishes. I simply use leftover vegetables from my fridge, organic pasta sauce and a tablespoon of vegan (oat) cream. This time I had a courgette, half a pepper, old carrots that are not good for salads but still really good for pasta dishes and soups, and different onions. It was delicious.
From my baby, I received a few gentle pushes. Such a self-transcending experience! I began to feel them somewhere between week 18 and week 19 of my pregnancy. My baby moves mostly late in the afternoon and at night before I fall asleep. Before I sleep, I try to spend an hour in bed to talk to them.
My partner and I don't exchange gifts on Valentine's Day. But we are taking a day off to simply be together.