"There are two great days in a person's life- the day we are born and the day we discover why." ~ William Barclay
Birthday's are not meant for fancy gifts and sweet treats. Celebrating birthdays is a way to acknowledge life. There are so many daughter's, son's, mom's, dad's, sisters, uncles, and aunts that are no longer here to celebrate their birthday. Life is meant to be celebrated. As we get older most of us take for granted our own birthday's and treat it as just another day. We rob ourselves of honoring the experiences that came from the high and lows of the year. Those experiences have allowed us to share time with our family and friends and also shaped us to be who we are today. How can you not celebrate that?!?
Today happens to be my birthday and over the last year I have experienced many of the same things that anyone my age does. Kids, financial woes, marriage highs and marriage lows, work, basically the path to finding myself. I cherish each of these memories because it reminds me what is really important in life, and that is people. Especially my two daughters; A and I. The hardest challenge that I continually face is finding and sharing with others the zest for life. I dream of the day when I am exuding joy without even thinking about it. All too often I get caught up with the motion of life, and it gets in the way of slowing down to appreciate simple pleasures. There is beauty in everything we do, especially the hard stuff. Perhaps the key is to simply slow down and take in what is staring right back at us. Be it the color of the flowers, the windows of the soul, the raindrops from the heavens above or a drawing hidden under your pillow by your daughter.
Here is a toast to all of my challenges and joys I've experienced over the last year. I am full of gratitude for the life I share with my family and friends. I love you all!
