Sweet

 

11/16/23 Macrina Bakery, Maple Leaf neighborhood

I worked at the Woodland Park Zoo’s concession stand one summer. Making popcorn, hotdogs and cotton candy all day, my co-workers and I joked about how our job was to “feed the wild animals.” I was 16, and it was my first “real” job – the kind with a paystub that showed how much of my minimum-wage paycheck wasn’t going into my pocket. Medicare? Huh. I’ll have lots of money when I’m 65! Why can’t I have that $0.87 now?

I had a birthday last week, and I’m finally vindicated for my 16-year-old self – and very grateful. After paying for my own health insurance for many years as a freelancer, my first Medicare insurance bill was a pretty darn good birthday present. Thanks, Uncle Sam.

To celebrate, a few friends and I met at Macrina Bakery so that I could eat my birthday cake (actually a chocolate walnut tartlet) with sketching company. Some birthdays are sweeter than others, even at my age.

A sweet celebration.