November 30th, 2011 - A New Appreciation for My Birthday

Me on my 3rd birthday!


Hoo boy, birthdays tucker me out these days! I just got back from a little birthday celebration at mom’s house and I am full and tired. At this stage of my life, birthdays are still changing for me. When I was young, of course, I really looked forward to them, becoming a year older and wiser, getting lots of presents, and partying it up with my friends, and then as the years started to build up I dreaded them, feeling as if the numbers were moving way too quickly and moving me closer to …well, you know. Nowadays I’m kind of liking them again for a totally different reason.

All month long I’ve been giving thanks for the things in my life that I am grateful for, the people and the things I have in my life that make it the blessing that it is. On your birthday you get to be on the receiving end on the same sort of thanks by the people in your life that appreciate you. Just knowing that people out there take the time out of their day to give you props for sharing the planet with them gives me a sense of pride that yes, I have made a difference in people’s lives, whether by way of a simple interaction on the street or in a more profound way.

Now I know this happens more often for people in these days of 24/7 all-access social networking, but I probably received more “happy birthdays” today than ever before and it’s a nice feeling. What’s even nicer is the ones you get from people you may have lost touch with, people with whom you were once close with yet drifted apart for whatever reason. On the other hand there are people you might have expected to hear from but didn’t, and that’s disappointing, but I just know that all I have to do about that is shrug my shoulders and move on.

All in all it was a nice birthday. I shared a lot of special moments with a lot of special people in my life and I definitely feel loved!

Note: Due to things being my birthday and all, look for this week’s “Writing Wednesday” in the coming days, as well as the rest of my “Thanksgiving Thanks.”

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