Will Johnston: Did nothing for my birthday - and it was the best one ever

Will and his sister Katie outside Tauranga Airport when she surprised him for his birthday. Photo / Supplied

COMMENT:

I turned 37 this week, that's still "mid" thirties right?

I got a dressing gown, comfy track pants and a wine aerator (a thing you pour red wine through so it tastes better, quicker).

These three things describe exactly who I am and where I'm at in my life right now. Rather than wondering who I've become, I'm just comfy as hell and a little drunk. Ha!

It was my birthday this week and I made a new rule for myself – because I'm rapidly ageing now and like rules slightly more than I used to because they fit the parameters of my straight white male brain – I will not work on my birthday anymore.

For a few years I had attempted to live by the rule: "I will spend my birthday overseas".

Covid killed that. Cheers Covid, you fun-vacuum.

Plus I also got a mortgage and an expensive dog since then, so there goes that money. Lol.

Also, for my birthday this year I got my sister, Katie!

She flew up from Wellington, in a covert operation organised by her and my marvellous fiancée, Tiffany.

Tiff had been at me for a couple of days in the lead up about doing a skydive for my birthday. I was not keen, I'm a wuss. Plus have you ever actually watched someone from the ground as they fall out of that dot of a plane in the sky? They fall like a damn fridge. I'm out.

But she drove me towards the airport on my birthday morning anyway just to screw with me.

Then we went past the skydive place and on the side of the road near the airport was Katie!

She'd left her 4-year-old and almost-3-year-old at home with their father and grandmother and escaped for 48 hours. Nico, the 4-year-old, was so disappointed he couldn't come ...

Not because he wanted to see Uncle Will, Aunty Tiffany and Bear the puppy ... But because he was convinced there was going to be a party and cake. And we were going to have cake without him.

I actually totally understand his logic and feel the same about missing any situation where there was a chance of cake.

It was an excellent chance to just spend a couple of days with my sister without work or other distractions (as fun as they usually are) – a rare thing in adult life for me seems to be just quality time with close family that don't live in the Bay.

Remember when you were a teenager and couldn't wait to get away from the lot of them?! A fine example of how the teenage brain is not fully formed, I reckon.

But also, they probably couldn't wait for me to leave as well, right?! I still cringe at how I thought I knew everything at 18. Eighteen-year-old me, ew!

So literally half my life ago that was where I was at.

Now, it's the opposite. Time with family and good friends is something I've just really started realising I need. Especially that time where you have nothing you have to do and it's one-on-one. I think we all take this kind of time for granted and often fill it with things to do.

Don't get me wrong, great memories of doing cool things with your nearest and dearest are one of life's true meanings. But when you're busy and there are others around you don't actually get to have those important chats about life and where you've come from, how you are now and where you're going.

Time literally doing nothing but chatting with your closest humans is basically therapy, I reckon. It's good for both of you, and it's free. Well, it involved Airpoints in our case, so almost free.

And if nothing else, when your sister has two kids under 5 you can provide a sweet sleep-in and 48 hours in a childless house of not worrying about pick-ups and drop offs and food ... And Frozen.

Technically I did nothing for my birthday. But it was one of the most important and best ones I can remember!