IT IS MY BIRTHDAY

Greetings.  Today is my birthday. 

BIRTHDAYS

Each birthday means I made it through another year.  The joys spurred me on and the trials did not stop me.  This year I have been blessed with sunrises and sunsets that proclaimed God has not forgotten me.  I have been blessed with the love of an amazing husband, wonderful children and their spouses and fantastic grandchildren.  It does not get any better than that!!!

When I look in the mirror, I see a 68 year old woman, with hair the color of my mother’s.  I see eye glasses, but glasses, in one shape or another, have been on my face for the majority of my life. I see a few wrinkles, but not many.  There are just enough to remind me that life has not always been easy.  

The mirror also shows extra pounds.  These pounds arrived over the years, beginning with a few extra with the birth of each child.  Menopause, along with all of its other gifts, deposited a pound here and there.  Then there was a surgery recovery that jumped on the send-the-scale-higher bandwagon.  Now, that weight is a part of who I am.

When I look at my hands, I wonder why mom had to give me her arthritis but then I am amazed that my fingers can still write, use the keyboard, clip flowers and drive that car at a few miles over the speed limit.  Hands are amazing!  I am thankful for my hands because they can gently wipe away a tear, hold a child or give a less than friendly gesture to the jerk that cuts me off in traffic.

When I look at my feet, I am thankful.  I can walk, maybe not as far or fast as I would like, but those silly toes have not worked correctly, even after surgery.  BUT those silly toes have been in all fifty states, have enjoyed two oceans and a gulf, and have been stuck in more streams and creeks than I can count.  Yes, I see silly toes but those silly toes have many stories to tell.

When I look around me, I realize how very blessed I am.  Church.  Family.  Friends.  Of course!!!  But so much more.  I am blessed to live in the USA.  I am blessed to be able to read and think.  Blessed to go to the faucet and have clean drinking water.  Blessed to have peanut butter cake with a son that shares my birthday. 

Happy birthday to me.  Happy birthday to me.  Happy birthday, dear me.  Happy birthday to me. --- Yes, I love my birthday.  It is a day to reflect, remember and celebrate.