Yesterday was my birthday.
I have this thing about my birthday. Growing up in Oregon, the first day of Spring was always during spring break, so I was never in school on my big day. It always felt a little like Christmas break, like everyone took a week off for Linda Tate’s birthday. In my childlike mind that was how it worked. I know people who have July 4th as a birthday and as young children thought the fireworks were just for them. I know one person who didn’t realize until age 10 or so that people were trick-or-treating for Halloween, not for his birthday! So, for me to have to work on my birthday is always a bit of a bummer, and most years I try to take that day off and spend my day doing something dreamy. Since I took time off last week to visit Mom and Dad, I worked yesterday.
As birthdays go, for a workday, it was a pretty good day. It started with an early morning wake-up call from my parents. They actually set their alarm to call me first thing and start my day off right. And it did. There was lots of well-wishing and such at my office, even a couple of nice gifts from co-workers I consider good friends.
When I was about 7 or 8 my mom’s friend gave me a book on my birthday. I don’t remember the name of it, nor do I remember the name of Mom’s friend, but it was a little children’s book about a girl who was having a birthday and she had certain things she always did on her birthday. She always went for a walk and greeted her favorite neighbors, she ate her favorite foods, and she made lists of what she wanted to do that year. Yellow was her favorite color, so she always had to wear yellow on that day. Since that birthday, I too, have always worn yellow. It just seems like the right thing to wear on the first day of spring. Usually I buy a new shirt or dress in just the right, oh so buttery yellow shade sometime the week before and savor the thought of wearing it on March 20th. This year, being 47, feeling a bit rough around the edges, feeling just a tad on the beat up side…and feeling a bit strapped for cash, I just dug out an older yellow tee shirt, threw it on over a white tank top and called it good. It wasn’t the same. The sparkle just wasn’t there, not having bought something new to savor. And the sparkle REALLY wasn’t there once I dribble my favorite coffee drink down the front of my shirt and had to wear my green jacket the rest of the day!
My favorite thing on my birthday is having the kids all come over for dinner and hang out and visit. We had a lovely dinner of tri-tip steak, salad, bread, grilled yams. Lots of laughter and a lively conversation around the table about what it really means to live out our faith in our brokeness. Rick and Abbie and Josh got me a new lens for my camera, which is the dreamiest thing, and I can’t wait to practice with it today; Caleb and Hannah gave me a gift card to my favorite yarn shop with implicit (is this the correct word usage?) instructions to use it on myself and not on their baby. I’ll try. Maybe I’ll buy something in a soft and oh, so buttery yellow shade to knit up for myself.
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