So yesterday was my birthday. Thanks to everyone who wished me well. I began my day waking up with the people I love the most in the world and getting them all set and on their way for the day. Quite an ordinary thing to do on a Tuesday morning in September, but I cannot think of a place I would have rather been. After getting them where they needed to be, I got my butt kicked in my favorite class at the gym. I am finding that so far 42 feels pretty good – I appreciate that I can still work out hard at my age. And I am inspired by ladies in that class who work just as hard but are easily 20 years older than me. On the way home, I appreciated a little gift from God in the form of a vibrant blue sky with wispy clouds that seemed as if they were painted in the sky just for me.
A large part of my birthday was spent dealing with the flea problem that our new kitten brought home from the shelter. But we are getting the problem under control with the help of some very effective medicine from the vet.
Yesterday evening I celebrated with my family, my loved ones all together. My husband painted an absolutely beautiful sunset for me (sunsets are among my favorite things in the entire world) and he gave me a Tree of Life necklace,
because I love all that a tree represents (strength, stability, the cycle of life, growth, rebirth – all of it). My youngest made me a card and put one dollar of his very own money into it (how sweet!). A friend gave me two perfectly shaped wine glasses that I love, and my daughter made me a card that she created with the help and input of my family – my husband, kids, mother-in-law, niece, nephew – where they wrote words that describe qualities I have. It is one of the most touching things I have ever gotten. I love that she brought everyone together to create it and the words they wrote are so special. I often think of the concept of a Living Eulogy – we should tell people what we love about them now and not wait to say it in a speech when they die. I try to do that as often as possible with as many people as I can, and my sweet girl did that for me yesterday.
I heard a quote recently that said “Life is a gift from God and I will pay it back, but with interest.” I know that in order to fully honor this Gift of Life that God has given me I need to continually work to be the best version of myself that I can be, and spread good will and love wherever I find the opportunity or the need for it. And I feel like I am doing a pretty good job paying back my debt 🙂
All in all, it was a lovely day – perhaps my favorite birthday of all – because it was spent with the people I love and because I was aware enough to notice and appreciate all the blessings surrounding me.
