I woke up early.  6am.  I stumbled to the bathroom as dim sunlight peeked through the curtains.  Crawled back into bed.  I stirred around for awhile.  My back was aching and the sciatica in my left leg was starting to act up.  I turned on a heating pad and proceeded to burn the uncomfortable feeling away.

Man, I am an old lady some mornings.

As I dozed in and out of sleepiness, I noticed my phone buzzing and lighting up.  I glanced and smiled when I saw a handful of happy birthday messages via text and Facebook.  Oh yeah!  It’s my birthday!  No wonder I feel so old.  I AM!

Stevie started crying, so Paul went in and brought him to bed.  I got a good 15 second snuggle.  We had corn cake waffles for breakfast.  Paul installed some new drawer handles.  Then there were 2 therapies for Stevie and lunch at Hook Burger.  I took a nap while Stevie did.  He and I both woke up groggy and grumpy.  Not long enough.  I re-organized the patio, now that the rain has dried.  Starting to feel a little Spring-y out there.  Stevie and I played on the floor for a long time and he wanted me to read The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss over and over.  He kept bringing me shoes to put on.  He wanted to play in the sink.  And of course a good portion of his day went to torturing Gadoo.  I texted Paul and asked him to please bring home some Yummy Cupcakes.  He was kind enough to do that.  He made me dinner and we taste-tested 5 different cupcakes.  All delish.  Stevie has started making a silly face on command so we laughed and laughed at that. Then while I was playing with him, he tripped and slammed his head into a wall and cried and cried.  Bedtime will come soon and I can only hope we all sleep through the night.

As I contemplate how birthdays have changed and how priorities have changed and why we have to get older… I can only say, I’m actually glad.  I have lots of love in my life.  And even if I could erase a few wrinkles and feel more rested in the mornings, I wouldn’t trade the knowledge I’ve gained or the happiness I’ve experienced in my 34 years of life.  There have been hard times, but we always come out stronger on the other side.  Perhaps more tired, but definitely stronger.  I am thankful and humbled to be 34.  I’m halfway to 68.  And a third of the way to 102.  Hey, it could happen.  And if I still have 2/3’s of the way to go, I have a hell of a lot more to look forward to.

Thanks to all of you who enrich my life and make me feel loved.  It’s the best feeling in the whole wide world.

Click images to enlarge…
Click here to see last year’s birthday post.