Birthdays

They are not as much fun as they used to be. When I was a kid, I remember being excited weeks before my birthday came. I diligently kept a countdown until the blessed day arrived. I was Queen For The Day on my birthday. I chose the breakfast we all ate. I chose the place the family went out to dinner that night. I chose whatever kind of cake I wanted. And the whole family had to watch as I opened my presents first thing in the morning. My mom knew what a kid would want when she decided how birthdays would work in our family. It was genius. With 5 kids in our family, having your own special, pay-lots-of-attention-to-ME day was wonderful!

This birthday didn't quite work out that way. The celebrations were diluted by a trip Jason and I took last weekend. This weekend capped off two weeks of illness and stress in our family (see previous post) and was complicated by a party I decide to plan last minute. Then Jason woke up ill this morning so no Boston Cream doughnuts from Dunkin Doughnuts. And there were none of my favorite chocolate pies at the grocery store. A true tragedy. But I did manage to snare some chicken McNuggets, fries and a Coke followed by a Cadbury Creme Egg. I don't even want to THINK about the amount of calories and fat I consumed. I only know it made things a little better. But the best part was the well wishes and gifts from friends and family. That made me feel loved and that's what birthdays are really about, feeling special and loved. I learned that from my mom! I love you Mom! And my day finished with a beautiful moment. I was putting Josh to bed. He'd just finished saying his prayers and I was telling him about Easter tomorrow. I was giving him a kiss and he turned to me and said, "Happy Birthday Mom," completely unprompted and totally sincere. Man I love that kid!