I love birthdays. We get gifts, cards, flowers, cakes, parties, and eat and drink a lot of good stuff. Receiving phone calls, reading Facebook messages, and hearing happy birthday wishes in person tops it all off. Doesn’t it all make you feel good? Birthdays are a celebration of the day that people came into this world. As each person gets another year older, we wish that his or her next year of life will be a happy, healthy, and amazing one! It’s hard to not feel loved when it’s your birthday, right? Not that we don’t any other time of the year, but it is nice to feel that love accentuated on that one special day. It is a special day. It is the day we came into existence.
My day always brings with it special themes and lessons. The most important part of birthdays for me is spending time with my family and friends. I have an amazing time with them every year, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. That really is what I look forward to each year. I am so thankful for the people I have in my life and what they do for me, and being able to spend my day with them allows me to consciously reflect upon that.
My mother goes all out for my birthday. Sometimes I wonder if she loves it more than I do. But I realize it is a special day for her as well. She treats me like a queen, and its nice. But what I really take from it is how I don’t know what I would do without her, and I remind myself how appreciative I am to have her as a mom. Every year she does everything she can to make my birthday better than the last. Who wouldn’t want a mom like that? She always brings me flowers to work. This year I was only working a half-day, and she overslept after she got my brother off to school that morning. I was about 15 minutes away from leaving work, and she still showed up to get them to me before I left. I poked fun at her, but it was awesome that she brought them to me, even if they only sat on my desk for 10 minutes.
When I went in to work that morning, my desk was decorated with a balloon and happy birthday sign. I asked who had done it, but no one knew. I went almost the entire time I was at work not knowing who had done such a nice thing. I thought one of my closest co-workers had done it, and wanted to keep it a secret. I finally asked the right person, who saw who had put up the decorations, and I was very surprised to learn who it was. I really had never expected such a thing from this person. It was a humbling experience for me to experience the kindness and thoughtfulness from someone who I have never really put much time into getting to know. It may not have been a big deal to her, but it was to me. I’m looking forward to passing that thoughtfulness on to someone who wouldn’t expect it from me.
I must also mention that my friend had set out to make a cake for me. The night before my birthday, she put it in the oven, went to lie down, and feel asleep. She woke up to a burnt cake, and had to throw the cake and the pan away. She lost a nice pan I’m sure. So there was no cake, but her efforts and lost cake pan said enough. She felt bad, but I don’t think she realized how nice she made me feel. It wasn’t about what had happened, but what she was attempting to do.
Birthdays are a time where we can allow ourselves be nurtured and loved. The stories I have shared from my birthday this year are examples of just that. We give and give all year long to everyone and everything, so let others do nice things for you on your birthday. However, acknowledge the things that those wonderful people do for you. Reflect upon how lucky you are to receive love, support, and comfort, and remember to pay it forward to someone on his or her special day.
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