kayaking on Loch Leven near Glencoe, Scotland, 2018

kayaking on Loch Leven near Glencoe, Scotland, 2018
Showing posts with label birthdays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthdays. Show all posts

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Celebrating a Birthday

Facebook sure can make a person feel the love on a birthday, right! I enjoyed everyone’s greetings and well wishes for a happy birthday. Many suggested I do something fun.

And I did. Several things, in fact.

I started the day meeting good friends for coffee.

I went to the gym. Briefly.

I worked. A little. But not too much.

My dear husband came home from work early for the sole purpose of baking me a made-from scratch carrot cake, sweetly adorned with the best cream cheese frosting I’ve ever experienced. Check it out!



Amazing! And it tasted as yummy as it looked.

We had dinner – sushi rolls, rice, veggie tempura, and tea -- at Osaka.

More good friends stopped by in the evening for cake and company.

But the coolest part of my day happened when I went to Oak Park Elementary to meet my new Lunch Buddy (through the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization). I didn't know what to expect. I’d never done this before. I was told she was “shy”. But from the second we laid eyes on each other, I feel like I made an instant friend. She was so thrilled to meet me. And I her. She didn't seem shy to me at all. We spent her lunchtime together. I met some of her friends. She told me her favorite color is pink. I shared my radishes and banana. She’s a picky eater, not much one for fruits and vegetables. I told her I’m a writer. Her favorite subject in school is PE. We started getting to know each other like that. I told her it was my birthday, and that getting to meet her was the best birthday present ever. Her smile said it all.

And it’s true. Don’t we receive the best gifts when we give of ourselves to others?

So here’s to another year in this adventure called life!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

A Quiet Celebration

Have you ever noticed how some birthdays are simply more (or less, as the case may be) spectacular than others?

Today was my birthday, and truly, I think it must have been the most low-key unremarkable birthday I’ve ever experienced. It was quiet and peaceful. There was no party, no fanfare, no cake and candles, no gaily-wrapped gifts. The day was an exercise in appreciating small pleasures.

Several friends at my gym, Dynamic Dimensions, wished me a happy birthday this morning. Ms. Johnnie made me my favorite smoothie, a Berry Delite. My mom called. The sun was shining and it was warm enough to open the windows. I received some good news about a writing contest I had entered. The postlady brought a few birthday cards. And a Netflix movie. My husband made dinner and cleaned the kitchen. And no birthday girl could ever feel forgotten with all those Facebook friends! It was a pleasant day.

While the day may be over, the birthday has a ways to go. I have several breakfast and lunch dates with friends coming up. It’s not a birth-day, it’s a birth-week, right!

Friday, October 26, 2012

From Boys to Men

 
 

My boys turned 18 years old a couple days ago. I considered writing a post about it, but, well, really, what can I say? They look the same to me. They act the same. But I'm taking them to vote this weekend. (Early voting, since Eric is home this weekend and won't be able to vote in Natchitoches on Election Day.) And I'm buying them their first-ever dress suits. No more borrowing a jacket from Dad or a friend. They received their selective service notices in the mail last week. Does voting, being old enough to be drafted, and wearing one's own dress-up clothes define "grown-up"? How exactly do we measure adulthood? How does one determine maturity level? Surely it is not a chronological number. It's not an appearance. Is it an attitude? Must it first be proven by demonstration? What are your thoughts?

In the meantime, I found a couple birthday posts in the archives. You can read them here and here.

One thing I can say . . . these boys make me proud and honored to be their mom every single day.