When I was a kid, I just couldn't wait for my birthday to roll around.
I anticipated it months ahead of time, and eagerly counted down weeks, then days, until my special day came around where I got to be “princess” for the day.
I have a very distinct memory of my sixth birthday for some reason, and remember waking up that morning so very excited that I was turning six!
I recall feeling more mature that morning when I awoke, more like a “young lady” and glad to be moving away from five, because I knew that I was now inching my way ever closer to turning ten, that mysterious double-digit age.
I skipped around the wooden table we had in the living room in my green striped dress, hair all sleekly combed into my slightly grown out Dorothy Hamill style (remember that early 80's cut?), and then took my good mood outside, feeling amazing as the sun shone down on me, as I continued to skip around the hedges in the front yard.
I was excited because I was going to have friends over that day, have a little swim party in the backyard, on the canal that we lived on in Michigan; I would eat lots of cake and ice cream, and open the little gifts that my neighborhood friends brought for me.
And that's exactly what I did.
Even though another birthday represents being another year older, it also represents the gift of another year of life.
My parents got out the Slip 'N Slide for us after “Happy Birthday” was sung to me, and the cake and ice cream eaten, and gifts opened; and it all felt magical (even if a little introverting being the center of attention), and as fun as fun could be.
So what happens to that wild enthusiasm and crazy excitement over birthdays once we get older?
I won't speak for anyone else, but I've noticed that for me, as I get older, birthdays lose a bit of their luster, and become more like something to “get through” than something to relish and savor.
Frankly, I often even forget that my birthday is coming up until just before it does!
And somehow, I get the feeling that I'm not alone in this...
I think that as many of us get older, we feel time passing by so very quickly, and are reminded of all that we'd like to do but still haven't, or of what we thought we would've accomplished, but are yet to.
Perhaps our own mortality comes into focus more as well, with the stark reality that the amount of time we have here is unknown, as well as what tomorrow holds.
Which brings me to how I'd like to view my birthday from now on, how I'd like to celebrate it and to honor what the day represents.
Even though another birthday represents being another year older, it also represents the gift of another year of life.
And in another year of life, there are many new experiences, many opportunities to begin afresh and to try my hand at so many things I'd like to try.
There's hope for renewal, and possibility to be even better than I was the previous year.
I'd like to feel more like I did about it when I was a kid, open and ready for it to reveal something magical and unexpected.
Another birthday can represent another chance to honor where I stand today, to honor the woman that I have become, and to be enthusiastic about the progress that I have made as a human being.
It's an opportunity to be a little more kind to myself, and to actually check in with the little girl still residing inside me, and ask her what she'd like to do and what she'd like to express.
Another birthday provides a moment for me to say “thank you” to my Creator for blessing me with another year of life, for the chance to still be standing, and standing stronger in many ways than ever before.
And so while it may not be swim parties, or getting out the Slip 'N Slide, or skipping around in eager anticipation of growing older by another year any more (though why not?), a birthday should still be held up and revered, even if in a different way from when I was a child, and experienced in a playful and fun way that is appropriate to who I am now.
The truth is, as I write this, it's my birthday. And I don't even mind that I'm another year older.
I want to relish everything good and worth celebrating about my life, as well as celebrate those people who are in it that make it brighter and more love-filled, that make my life as rich as it indeed is.
I want to be conscious of what a blessing this day is for me, and savor each moment, rather than looking at this day as something to “get through” and move on from.
I'd like to feel more like I did about it when I was a kid, open and ready for it to reveal something magical and unexpected.
I just want to be open to receive, and that's what can be hard, to be totally honest...
But that's what I long to be able to do.
Ah, birthdays...
These little markers represent so much more than we realize.
They hold within them so much more “baggage” than we even know.
But it's time to put all that aside, and to cherish what a day like a birthday represents, and find it to be the gift that it truly is for any of us who are still here, blessed to experience.
Taste what's good and pass it on.
Ingrid
“From The Heart” is a space for me to share some of my more personal thoughts on life. Here you'll find my reflections on my own inner/spiritual journey; on being a wife and mother; on being a creative; and general observations, pretty much whatever is on my mind.
I whole-heartedly believe that sharing 'from the heart' with one another is what connects us, heals us, and inspires us! Glad you're here...
Forrest
Happy Birthday!! Thank you for sharing 🙂
The Cozy Apron
Hi Forrest, thank you so much! ❤I appreciate that!
Roseanne
Such lovely thoughts, Ingrid. Happy Birthday to my cyber-sister. XOX
Absorb all the good wishes, energies and love that your family and friends have heaped upon you on your special day. I'm betting they feel you are such a wonderful and precious gift in their lives.
Bask in that and take it to heart in this coming year. It's the least we should do, right?
Sending love and blessings ~ Roseanne
The Cozy Apron
Hi precious cyber-sis, thank you so much for that! And you're right— basking in and taking to heart the kindness and love of others IS the least we should do...Gratitude for all that is encouraging and inspiring in life. Hugs and kisses, Roseanne! xoxo
Deborah Behney
Wishing you a wonderful birthday filled with love and special moments.
The Cozy Apron
Thank you so much, Deborah! ❤