Birthdays

Birthdays are funny things.  I've spent most Octobers counting down until my birthday.  I usually celebrate a Birthday Month, the celebrating gets more intense in my Birthday Week, and finally when the 25th arrives I announce at the top of my lungs to anyone and everyone that it's my Birthday!  I'm really not shy.  This year hit me pretty hard though, 30, UGG.  To top it all off, Matt started a new rotation and I knew we weren't going to get to spend any time together today.  I was prepared to have a really sucky birthday.  Now, I am an eternal pessimist.  My motto is, "If I'm a pessimist I'm either always right or pleasantly surprised."  My mother doesn't appreciate this line of thinking, but then she's the one who heard on the news that if you're optimistic it means there is an abnormality in your brain.  


Today, I was pleasantly surprised.  I can't believe all the love I got.  I appreciate all of you who went out of your way to welcome me into "Club 30."  It was a great day with even a present from Jesus.  I happened to remember an ad I saw about New Balance shoes for cheap. (Having "Fat German Feet" and high arches, NB are the only kind of tennies I can wear)  I looked on the day that the ad was listed, but wasn't interested in that particular style.  I felt prompted to check again today and found just what I wanted for less than 30 bucks and the site had free shipping for today.  Yay, God!


Yeah, so, blah, blah, blah, I had a great day but you don't really want to read all my gushing.  What really got me thinking about Birthdays was an exchange I had with Evelyn tonight.  Evelyn's pregnancy was the only time I was pregnant through the summer.  It shouldn't have been a big deal as she was born in late November and I shouldn't have been "huge" pregnant during the hottest months of the year.  Well, that was a lovely theory, but it was 90+ degrees well into October that year.  I don' t think I let Matt take the air conditioner out until November.  So, needless to say, Evelyn is the only fall baby.  Her siblings' birthdays come in March, April, and May and then the poor child has to wait until November for her birthday to arrive.  To make her feel better about this fact, I have been telling her that her birthday is after Mommy's and it's in a special time of year.  Tonight as I was tucking her in to bed she was so excited and I quickly realized that she thought her birthday was DIRECTLY AFTER mine....like, tomorrow.  I had to explain that it was in the next month.  Oh boy, poor child was crushed.  She just cried and cried.  Thankfully, I had Matt on speaker phone and he started telling her how it couldn't be tomorrow because we needed time to buy all her presents.  (Note to self: she may need extra presents.)


I do feel for her as she has patiently waited through all of her siblings' and cousins' birthdays for her's to arrive.  I suppose I should consider this when "planning" (yeah, right) the next child.  She should have someone to wait with her.


Here I've been, whining about my birthday and poor Evelyn's can't come soon enough.  I guess perspective has a lot to do with it.  I think both Evelyn and I are OK now!  Thank God for birthdays and special people to share them with!!     :-)