Tuesday's Ten: Happy Birthday

I love birthdays. I really, really love my own birthdays. I don't understand why people fuss about the numbers, or try to forget their birthdays even exist.

Here are ten reasons why:

1. Birthdays mean you are still alive! How many people would love to have that chance?!

2. Birthdays are one time when it is considered okay for you to celebrate YOURSELF. Heck, it's even encouraged!

3. Chocolate cake and/or ice cream. No further explanation needed.

4. It's a chance to be a little retrospective. Was last year less than you had hoped for? Think of birthdays as another chance to make lasting resolutions. But this time, it's all about you. No one else needs to know unless you tell them.

5. Celebrate what you've learned, what you've accomplished, and...

6. Look ahead to where you'd like to be.

7. Gifts. :) Even if you don't receive anything tied up with pretty bows, you can take this day to do something nice for YOURSELF. It doesn't have to cost anything. Get creative with this one-- anything from using that pretty new pen you were saving, to taking the last piece of chocolate.

8. Those years? They are not a burden. They are a gift. Think back to when you were a kid and you not only celebrated years, but half-years as well. Be proud of those numbers! (None of that "over the hill" crap, thankyouverymuch.)

9. Birthdays are also a chance to think about your health. Not as fit as you used to be, or as you'd like to be? Take a few steps on your birthday to treat your body like the gift it is.

10. From my Little G-- birthdays are like when you're playing Smurfs and you level up. It unlocks a whole new series of skills and abilities and lots of new things you can do. (Love this kid.)

So, happy birthday week to me! I intend to make it a good one. Next time it's your day? I hope you'll celebrate like crazy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KKGkq0SfXk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Beautiful in My Eyes

This post is for my two G's-- Big and Little.

The G stands for "girl", by the way-- it's not really their initial.

You are beautiful.

Your smile, from the first moment I ever saw it, just lights up my world.  You both smiled early and often as babies.  Now that you are growing up, of course your smiles have changed.  You have changed.

But you are beautiful.

I know sometimes you fret about your hair.  Or your skin.  Or your height.

Don't you see the intelligence in those bright eyes?

Don't you see the wit in the grin?

Sometimes, when you look at me, you literally steal my breath.  Poof-- it's gone.  And I'm left wondering how on earth we are so blessed.

When you were both infants and toddlers, I used to love to play with your hands and feet.  I marveled at the teeny nails and the little lines across your knuckles.

Little G, you obviously had my feet.  And even when you were really little, we called you Mini Me because you have my expressions and sometimes my way of speaking.

And Big G, your bird-like bone structure was so much like your Great Grandma that it was no wonder she smiled every time you walked into the room during visits.  Those long fingers were made for the music and crafts you love.

Those hands and feet have changed, of course, but sometimes I still find myself marveling.  I don't know if every mother reflects, 19 years later, on the miracle that happens when those two cells come together.  I do.  And I marvel that it happened twice for us.

Next week is Big G's birthday.  Since My G is a Soldier, he has unfortunately missed his share of her birthdays.  I know it kills him every time, but it's also part and parcel of the whole Soldier gig.

But this is my first one to miss.  And it's going to tear me up.

I am so fortunate that Big G is living with family while she is beginning college, because I got a first-day-of-school smile (ok, I got a scowl...still gorgeous).  I will ask for a birthday picture.

And I will look over at Little G and see her braces twinkle and her eyes sparkle.  And I will give her extra hugs because I understand now what I didn't before.

Every child is uniquely beautiful to the mother who loves them.  And to the God who made them.

And every.single.day is precious beyond measure.

Beautiful In My Eyes-- Joshua Kadison