Sunday, April 1, 2012

Quietly Turning 36

With my birthday arriving in such close proximity to my due date, keeping the possibility in mind that our girl might actually be born today, thus cancelling any plans we might have been counting on, we had, quite a while ago, made the logical and easy decision to not make a big deal out of this birthday.  As it turned out, this might qualify as the most low-key birthday I've ever had.

That's not to say that there weren't special little things scattered through it.  Here are some that I want to remember and treasure:

~ friendly, helpful conversations with Cindy, Sue, and Carla after our church service this morning

~ delicious lunch with my family (the eight of us) at Golden Corral

~ my dad choking up as he prayed before we ate and he thanked God for me and for my daughter (it was perhaps the first time my boys had ever seen their grandpa get emotional like that; they're used to it from their grandma, but not from him!)

~ a beautiful, meaningful card from my parents

~ the recital Josiah, David, and I attended this afternoon, featuring some of the music teachers that they've studied with

~ time spent outdoors in the peaceful spring evening, pushing Shav on the swing and chatting with Wilma, my next door neighbor, who came over with her children

~ a sweet and funny birthday card from those neighbors

~ a tulip-shaped chocolate from Jeff and the boys

~ cards from Jeff and the boys that made me cry

~ the knowledge that a laptop is on the way for me (so that I can put it in my bedroom and use it during the night when I nurse the baby...and hopefully, use some of those awake times to start working on another blog book using Blurb)

~ very kind birthday messages from friends on Facebook

~ and a baby that is still wiggling around inside me!

It appears that a lot of people were hoping she would be born today, but the fact that she wasn't reminds me that God has a perfect day chosen for her, and He's already written an incredibly special birth story just for her.  With that in mind, I'm ready to start a new week, a new month, and a new year of life.  I give thanks for the 36 years I've been given so far!

7 comments:

Homeschool on the Croft said...

My birthdays all tend to be low-key like that, but dotted with precious things too, just like yours :)

That moment with Grandpa.... truly precious. And probably unforgettable.

Happy Birthday x

Unknown said...

It sounds like a perfect day to me! The new laptop will be such fun!

Caroline said...

Sounds like you had a lot of special things filling this quiet day! Next year, your birthday won't be so quiet with a little almost year-old princess around!

I love the prayer and the tears from your Daddy. Daddies have a special way of getting a point across when they break from character and show their vulnerable side

Emily said...

Happy belated birthday! Blessings to you this year! You are such a wonderful wife and mother.

Anonymous said...

Yesterday was pretty crazy with our church move (after the service) but I thought of you several times yesterday! I am glad you had a good birthday even if it was low key! Only 10 days until my guess ;-)

Valerie said...

Happy (belated) Birthday! Sometimes low key birthday's are the best. Glad you had a nice day. Melted my heart to read that your Dad got choked up when praying. My dad used to write a weekly article for our local paper. It was generally a very funny read about the life of a father. I have two saved. One he wrote when I got married and one he wrote when I had my first baby. Very emotional read. So out of the norm for him and something I will always treasure.

Enjoy your next few days... I think baby girl will be here SOON. (My guess is Saturday) :)

Margie said...

I've been wanting to get back to this post. Did you know I turned 40 the day before Sarah was born? (Is this old news?) It was such a wonderful distraction - new life when that birthday is so often viewed as the door to old-agehood. So I understand, and affirm, the quiet birthday you had in anticipation of the new one coming soon (today, in fact, as I write). So happy birthday, again - so glad you have so many wonderful things to celebrate. It sounded like a really perfect day.