Celebrating Life
Birthdays are a time to celebrate life. One day each year is set aside for being the recipient of wonderful messages, cards, gifts, emails and phone calls full of joy, blessings, singing and laughter. Yesterday, I was the one on the receiving end. At my age, many people start to have an attitude of wanting to deny their age and ignore their birthdays, but I am delighted to celebrate another year of life. I am so grateful for my family and friends and for another year of health (or the reality of learning to live with a few health limitations along the way). I look with anticipation at the year to come, wondering what new adventures and challenges I will face. This year with our family scattered all over the world, I appreciated the technology that allowed me to see and talk to three of our four kids and their spouses and our grand kids. The joy in the faces of the little ones as they sang and yelled HAPPY BIRTHDAY was a thrill for me.
I love surprises!! This is a known entity in our family. Our one daughter, Bethany and her husband Mike helped my precious husband plan a two day extravaganza yesterday and today. We woke up early, which is a gift unto itself from my husband who spends his life in a state of perpetual sleep deprivation, and we drove up to Cameron Park to go to church with Bethany and Mike. Then we had a fun “pick your own picnic” style lunch from a gourmet grocery store. After lunch we drove to a beautiful hiking trail that we walked on for a few hours. Just talking and being in nature on a beautiful day is a wonderful way to celebrate. We hurried home to shower up and get dressed for the evening activities. A quick FaceTime call from Grenada was another highlight. 
Then off we went to discover and explore Historical downtown Folsom. What a fun town with cute shops and lights and a fantastic Chicago style pizza parlor. We ate a delicious meal ending with a decadent hot cookie based ice cream treat that we all shared and devoured in about 2 minutes!!
Our evening continued with a suspenseful movie and a good night sleep. This morning we are headed to Apple Hill and an afternoon exploring midtown Sacramento.
So when your next birthday rolls around, CELEBRATE! Let those who love you join in the fun. Let them spoil you and rejoice in who God made you. Yes, of course I was spoiled rotten with gifts! Throughout the rest of the year we all know that moms do the majority of giving, planning and spoiling of others. We also know that it really is more blessed to give than to receive….so on your special day, allow others to fill your day with joy and love and you will actually be bringing blessings to them.
What are some of your family’s favorite ways to celebrate birthdays?
