More…
I had a wonderful birthday. I didn’t expect it to work out that way, in all honesty. Two or three weeks ago, Mandy was still not doing very well, and I was dreading a birthday spent thinking about missing her. But she’s doing much better… much, much better, blessedly… and that wasn’t a problem for me on my birthday.
If you haven’t been reading here long, I love birthdays. Anyone’s birthday. At work on Wednesday, one of my co-workers (younger than me, of course) said something about how he wasn’t looking forward to getting older, and I laughed. I said how old I am (a whopping 39!) and then said that I really do like me better now than I did 10 or 20 years ago.
To which he responded, “Yeah, but you’ve got your life on track. You’ve got a plan. You like what you’ve got going on.”
And I was delighted. Stunned, but delighted. I rarely feel like I’ve got my life on track… have no plan at all most days. But I do really like what I’ve got going on. And I’m so glad that I’m giving that impression to the people around me. I am, for all practical purposes, happy with my lot in life.
Now, sure, we’ve got debt up the yin-yang, and we’re under siege from a bunch of surly appliances, and there are still lots of days in which I hate my job (but less than before!), and I’d like for everyone not to be allergic so we could have a dog. And I’ve got more than my share of craziness in my head, but I’ve also got a fair bit of happy, so that seems like a fair trade to me.
The girls at work - a bunch of them! - got together to take me to lunch for my birthday and to give me a gift certificate for a massage. I was just stunned. And overwhelmed by their seemingly pure enjoyment of … well, me. How phenominal is that!
And if you missed it, Josh was the sweetest guest poster here on my birthday. I sent Mike a text during the day telling him he should go read Josh’s post (which Aleece, my own personal webmaster, changed from a comment to a post for me), telling Mike that the post made me cry. Mike responded… “It’s true, you know. All of it.”
And without sounding all MEMEME, a fair bit of it is true. I am loyal and caring, and I do love with just everything I have, for right or wrong. And I am happy and pleasant and hopefully easy to be around. I’ve been in four sections at work in the last year, and at my birthday lunch, there were girls from each of those sections. I like the fact that people continue to seek me out even after I’ve been moved to other locations.
I have been, am still, so completely humbled by the affection… touched by people’s acceptance of me… blessed to have finally come to the point where I can say I am content here.
I’m thinking that I may like 39 so much that I may just stay here until my brother catches up and we can be twins.
Filed under Most Everything | Permalink | Comments (5)Tagged with: Birthdays • Chel
Happy Birthday, Josh!
What a completely groovy day? Josh’s birthday!!
We fell in love with Mandy first, of course, but we fell for you just like she did because you’re wonderful. Now, sure, our new Griff mantra is “Don’t Be a Josh. Be a Mandy!” But if he could turn out to be laid back and caring and wonderful like you, we’d be just fine with that. (Of course, if you tell him that, we’ll deny it. “Be a Mandy!” Kid needs to figure out to work harder.)
Mandy and Olivia are blessed to have you… just like we are. Happy Day, Joshua.
Tagged with: Birthdays • Josh
A Celebration Combo
Happy Birthday to my friend, Tara! She and I have known each other since college, and she still likes me! That’s some love there. 
Tara is so darned smart that we used to joke that she had a major in every college in the university before graduation. She was a high school teacher - in the very district where the shootings in Jonesboro, Ark. happened several years ago… it was a long day waiting to hear that she was okay - before deciding she wanted to be a pharmacist. She quit her job, sold her house, and went to school again. And now she’s a pharmacist.
I sooo admire her ability to decide she wants to do something and then do it. Dang, I wish I had more of that!
Tara’s also wicked funny once you get to know her. She’s so quiet and reserved that it’s astounding that she and I became friends. Tara gives parts of herself away slowly, in measured doses, whereas I have never met a stranger… only people I don’t yet know well.
But there’s something really remarkable about working to get to know someone … there’s often real treasure buried beneath the distance. In this instance, that was so very true. Tara’s kind and compassionate and funny (I really enjoy funny… it’s what drew me to Mike) and talented and smart and loyal. I’m also a big fan of loyal.
So, here’s to you, Tara. Happy Birthday! I’m honored to call you a friend.
And…. to all the mothers in my life… I hope it’s a happy day. Full of love.
Filed under Most Everything | Permalink | Comment (0)Tagged with: Birthdays
