Birthdays

When I was younger I looked forward to my birthday with great anticipation. In fact, it was like Christmas Eve, I could hardly get to sleep and I woke up really early just from the excitement of it all. My mom made birthdays special, we always got to choose what we wanted for breakfast, generally got to choose the restaurant we ate at for dinner, and the gifts from my parents were always just right. I didn't always get to have a birthday party but when I did they were always full of fun and surprises as well. My favorite birthday memory is when my mom planned a surprise kidnap breakfast, and I awoke surrounded by my friends, hair uncombed, in their pajamas, singing happy birthday, what a cool party, a surprise for everyone. We had a great breakfast and the rest of the day was just so fun! Birthdays were just a magical time!

Me - this is a close as I can get you to my actual birth day

As I got older some of the magic about my birthdays seemed to disappear. I still loved celebrating others birthdays, but as I creeped into my not so mid 30's I started dreading mine. I used them as a time to reflect on mostly what I had not accomplished that I thought I should have by that particular age. On my 40th birthday I began to realize how silly that was and that birthdays were a time to reflect on your life, all the things I HAD accomplished and the fact that I was celebrating another birthday meant that I still had a chance to complete the things I hadn't. I love my birthdays, they are great, I don't have to cook or clean, my friends and family call me and send wonderful birthday wishes, people sing to me and everyone is just a bit nicer to me than usual. So, bring on the cake and ice cream and let's celebrate!