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Last week, I celebrated my birthday. Actually, I started celebrating the week before, enjoying a restaurant dinner with my birthday twin (we share birth dates, not birth mothers) and a chocolate Grand Marnier cake to top off my family\u2019s Thanksgiving meal.<\/p>\n
I got together with several friends at Nicki\u2019s on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We nibbled from an abundant buffet and emptied a modest amount of Prosecco.<\/p>\n
I made a wish as I blew out candles over a coconut cake (one of my favorite sweets).<\/p>\n
I unwrapped presents and we ogled over the cards we passed around.<\/p>\n
I entertained the thought that, at sixty-five, I should be past getting excited over another birthday, but I confess I love having a small fuss made over me. I relish the thought of people getting together because of ME.<\/p>\n
There are things I am proud of and goals I still hope to accomplish, but I can\u2019t think of anything that makes me as happy as being a valued friend and receiving the good wishes of people I love.<\/p>\n
Just to be sure I didn\u2019t let the love fest go to my head, I guess, Nicki sent me home with a souvenir balloon printed with HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s still inflated, a week later, and continues to make me smile.<\/p>\n
When you turn sixty-five, the cards and birthday greetings tend to paint aging in a strange light.<\/p>\n
Several people have congratulated me for getting on Medicare. I got another card which poked fun at senior moments, lapses in short-term memory, by starting off \u00a0\u201cHappy \u2014 Oh crap. I forgot what I wanted to wish you.\u201d<\/p>\n
On its front, my favorite greeting card read \u201cWe\u2019re not getting older,\u00a0 we\u2019re getting better,\u201d then opened to the self-conscious and delightfully human refrain, \u201dOkay, now you say that to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had to laugh at the truth behind this stripped down sentiment. Years earlier, I might have thought more about being clever. Now, I don\u2019t know if I would even write a snarky YELP review.<\/p>\n
I believe that part of everyone\u2019s purpose on earth is to build each other up.<\/p>\n
I used to quip about getting older by saying “Cut me in the middle and count the rings,\u201d as if I was a tree and each year represented a dubious accomplishment. But in so many ways, with each passing year, I have become happier, more aware of what I\u2019m genuinely grateful for.<\/p>\n
I worry less. I accept myself more. I don\u2019t care about whether my frock is fashionable, only whether it\u2019s machine washable. I don\u2019t measure myself in comparison to what others have. I mostly just give attention to how what I have makes me feel.<\/p>\n
As I stared at my Happy Fucking Birthday<\/em><\/strong> balloon, I thought about the expression, \u201cMany happy returns.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve assumed this expression referred to the time it takes for the earth to revolve around the sun, one year, and conveyed that this fact, a completed revolution, was worth celebrating.<\/p>\n The sun doesn\u2019t care about the planets or stars in its orbit. The planets don\u2019t care about its movement or even about time. A year is totally insignificant in their lives.<\/p>\n But I am aware of things in my world that I appreciate, that make me happy to be on this trip, for as long or short as it is.<\/p>\n Being human is about coming to terms with being nothing special but understanding that your experience is all about YOU!\u00a0 It\u2019s great to have people you love with you on this journey.<\/p>\n Wanting to celebrate just being loving and learning as any cycle completes itself is no small thing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last week, I celebrated my birthday. Actually, I started celebrating the week before, enjoying a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[632],"tags":[701,704,703,54,702,705],"class_list":["post-7339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weekly-blog","tag-grand-marnier","tag-machine-washable","tag-many-happy-returns","tag-no-small-thing","tag-prosecco","tag-yelp","grateful-dozen-humor","grateful-dozen-self-appreciation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n