July 09th, 2024

 
As of today, I have been knocking around the planet for a whopping Seventy-One Years!  Holy Cats that's old.   Dang.     I find myself reflecting a bit on my life today.  After this many years of wandering around, mostly blundering my way through, what have I learned?  Well, one of the biggest take-aways for me is that Most people are truly lovely humans and that people from everywhere around the entire globe are more similar than they are different. 

I have learned to appreciate, to forgive, to laugh, to be kind and to be grateful first before I do anything else.   I have discovered what is and what is not worth arguing about, (most things are not) and that whatever is going on in my life, in my town, my state, my country or the entire earth, it will change and be something else soon. I know now that the end of everything is the beginning of something else.

I have accepted that nothing is forever but this moment, right now, is precious.  I know that respect is earned, hard work feels good and that there is nothing at all wrong with occasionally doing nothing at all.   Eventually I figured out that failure is nothing shameful but only a learning experience and that losing sometimes teaches us more than winning.

I know that Love really is one of the most powerful and important things anyone will ever know. And that I have been exceptionally fortunate in my friends, my family, my husband, my children (both my biological kids and their life mates who I consider my bonus kids).  

All of life is an adventure and if you approach it with the attitude that it's going to be mostly great, then mostly, it will be.  Everyone we meet has something to teach us, something of value to offer and is a unique individual.

AND,  finally, I still believe in the birthday rules!  You didn't think I would do a birthday post without them did you?  Silly...  Here we go:

BIRTHDAY RULES

1. Number one and most important on this hit parade:  It's all about the birthday person.  It really is.  No exceptions. If it's your birthday, everything that day is about you. Period.

2. Of course, to be absolutely fair, I am not a person who really likes being the center of a big crowd of people. But a small, comfortable, familiar crowd is fine. In fact it's awesome.  A small group of people that I really care about it absolutely perfect.  If that group consists of me and one other person, sometimes that is the best group of all.

3. And there should be at least one treat that a person rarely has, like cake. Or ice cream.  Or cake AND ice cream.  And for heaven's sakes, if a person is going to indulge, it should be the good stuff. The real deal. No fake, crappy substitutes.  And speaking as a person with Lactose Intolerance, if I'm going to suffer later, I want the suffering to be worthwhile, which means the ice cream must be primo.

4. There should be a few cards, some of them should have sparkles, some flowers, some funny, some touching or maybe thought provoking. I like cards.  I set them up on top of the big display cabinet in the living room and admire them for far too long afterwards.

5. There should be some sort of contact from people far away, whether it's phone calls or emails or texts or facebook posts or telepathic thoughts, heaps of good wishes from folks far away makes a birthday extra special.  To think that all of those people bothered to take the time to acknowledge your existence on your birthday shows that you matter in this life.  That's important.

6. There should be no chores on your birthday.  Not one single solitary gotta-do should be done by the birthday celebrant.  Those things can either wait a day to be done, or someone else needs to do them.  I'm immovable on this fact.

7. The birthday person gets to choose what or where to eat for dinner.  And no matter what they choose, that's what dinner is.  Doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.  It is the ONE day of the entire year where nobody else's likes/dislikes/or personal opinion should take precedence regarding food.

8. It should be a happy day.  Only positive comments and thoughts please.  It should be a day of smiles and laughter. If there is something negative or sad that needs to be said, keep it to yourself for one more day.  Not even boredom is allowed.
​Happy Birthday to me!  

Birthday Hugs all 'round!