MY Birthday!!!

Well, since I just wrote a blog about hating Mother's Day, it is interesting that I had a strong desire to share how much I LOVE my birthday!! It is probably all inter-connected somehow, but it is way too early to think that one through.


Let me share about my birthday!!

 Andrew, my youngest son, had given me this beautiful original painting that he spent hours painting, so his talent and  love for me was already warming my heart when I awoke to the sound of rain pouring down outside. Certainly am glad I did not choose to have a beach day like I originally thought about :-)!


 First activity of the day was a doctor's appointment, with blood-work. My veins are the kind that play hide and seek with any lab technician that isn't up for a good challenge, so I particularly love this fun. It helps to enjoy the entire rest of the day if you start out with the worst possible scenario, so I did. For good measure, I gained a wad of weight, making my self image close to the edge of destruction....but never-you-mind, I still love birthdays!!

Splashing out to the car after my successful fasting bloodwork , I was particularly thankful that daughter Margie had suggested we meet and eat at a local breakfast place before I had to be at work. Here is what I can tell you: YUM. Showing you is better....

Yes, a caramelized onion with Gouda cheese fresh square bagel with scrambled eggs , fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes and a pesto -to- die- for ...oh. my . goodness. gracious. breakfast.















Then there was the cute little face , also a little squarish , silly smiley grin showing through as she delved into her square sandwich bagel......
Bianca always makes a birthday better!

 She is my twin, too, by the way.













Insert work in my birthday here. Think there is nothing special about work on your Birthday? Think again, or work at a school filled with hilarious kids!! During lunch we take time to silently cheer anyone who is having a birthday, so as the little peeps silently cheered me , it set the stage for a gazillion Happy Birthday Mrs. Ribeiro greetings ahead! There was even a song in AfterSchool, my stomping grounds!

This taken immediately after I had gone to the kitchen for water and returned to my room completely emptied of kids-they were hiding in an art closet ...'to surprise me'. Surprise Surprise. :-)
They then burst into their rendition of the Happy Birthday song.





Work went by quickly and I even received beautiful gifts from friends there, making it especially fun!

Presents are not always what I think will make me happiest~ after all, people do not need to give me a gift to show me their love. But , then again, that being said, for clarification and all.....LOVE the feeling that someone thought of me, shopped for me, spent their very hard earned money on ME, and then waited expectantly to see if I liked what they got me. Now that makes me happy.

After work, I was happy to find several birthday cards, emails and phone messages to shower me with encouragement and love!! I am a LOVE those CARDS kind of gal, and even at age 62, (ugh) they light up my life rather brightly!!

Next stop on the birthday train: Dinner !! The original invitation by daughter Julie was a quick dinner to the local Mexican Restaurant, which I was anticipating happily, but the change in plans was phenomenal!!

 

One of the best steaks I have ever tasted! thanks to quality in cows and cooks! 

Furthermore, there was entertainment.....

Basketball playing rabbit and grandson!!

Have I mentioned I love Birthdays!!!?!!!

Why I dislike Mother's Day

There, you are reading it here first: the reasons I think Mother's Day is ridiculous after children leave the home.

Admittedly, when my 7 kids were young , the whole idea of actually having a day to sit back, relax, be given cards and gifts, and special hugs from my adoring children, did appeal to me. It made me feel, if not special, at least appreciated for the orchestrator of all things Home Like. Dad did his best to keep up, but since it fell on a Sunday , since he was a Pastor whose job description included Sunday as a work day, and since we rarely worked on the Sabbath......well, see what I am getting at here? How hard was it to put a lunch in the Crockpot, then have the kids throw me a breakfast in bed on their way to the race to the bathroom and getting ready for church? There wasn't even any laundry to do, for crying out loud.

The funniest part for me was the kids all watching me eat whatever they brought me for breakfast. It developed from a piece of dry toast and popcorn in 1977 ish to a gourmet breakfast in bed, on a tray with flowers, by the time they all flew out of the nest. That was well over 30 years of experimentation on a mom who was often made to lie flat and live without a cup of coffee for a very l-o-n-g period of time.

Fast forward to 2012, former husband having flown from this nest about 11 years prior, and all children snuggled nicely in their own lifestyles. Seven different kids, seven different lifestyles, and not a one wanting to enter quietly into my kitchen, pop some toast in the toaster and produce a mouth-watering version of  Emeril's Live Surprise Mom show. Ok, so as I wrote that , I began feeling a tiny bitty bit depressed all over again thinking how maybe that would be a fun idea....oh, but wait! that is my point!!!

The Mother's Day Sunday in May is BOGUS. My children are the same the day before and the day after, they love me whether or not they sent me a card, got me a candle, or invited me over for dinner. It's a fact. I may not FEEL the love every single day, but I am pretty sure it is there, even when their moods are altered by work overload and daily drama.

The media began asking , taking polls even~ "what is your favorite Mother's Day gift?", for about a month before the day arrived, forcing usually normal people to become obsessed about what to give their mom in order to make her feel happy. Candy? Flowers? Time alone? Wine? Jewelry? Hallmark cards? How about that cruise she has always longed for? After a few times of hearing it I began wondering to myself what exactly was that perfect gift I would want to receive from my children??

There you have it, not able to be purchased, no food included, priceless gift. The price, of course, was that Jesus Christ already paid for this gift of Truth - for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

I shared this with my children for 365 days a year, (not just over toast on Mother's Day) all the years of their lives at home, and I am waiting, sometimes patiently and sometimes not, for them all 7 to be walking in that Truth.

Why do I dislike Mother's Day?
Because for that one single day, every year, the expectations of joy become more important than the Truth.

I love that God gave me children to teach about the Truth. Thank you Lord for these gifts is on my lips daily.  I love that the Truth remains so, even when this mom gets grumpy and sad and frustrated, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Mother's Day? not so much.