When you become a parent, your whole perspective on birthdays changes.
No longer is your own birthday important...
You would much rather celebrate the days that you gave birth to your children...
Your child's birthday is really when you want to celebrate together.
And...I get this now, since our nest is empty.
My birthday is just another day.
And...I also understand how strongly my mom felt about spending my birthday with me.
We would visit her on her birthday, but she didn't care about that...
she wanted to visit me on my birthday!
Some of you might remember this post from my birthday in 2010...
the year we moved Mom from her own place to an assisted living facility.
Most of you know that I celebrated my birthday about two weeks ago.
This year I celebrated with my mom.
I had taken her to her eye doctor's appointment, complete with dilatation,
so felt best that I prepare a dinner for us in her apartment.
In early June, she had given me a small gift of cash...
she reminded me that she can no longer shop,
and wanted to give us something for our anniversary and my birthday.
I had cashed the check and was carrying the money around in my purse...
not sure if I should apply it to something practical or get something a bit special, that would be just from her.
So after our little birthday dinner, she gave me a card.
Inside was this scrappy piece of paper...
You see, the folks that grew up during the depression saved everything.
My mom even saved junk mail if it was printed on only one side.
But when I turned the paper over, there was typing...
I immediately recognized the font.
She must have typed it years ago, on her first typewriter.
The same typewriter that she used to type the local news column every Monday.
The same typewriter that I used to type research papers in high school.
The beautiful in life...
some talk of it in poetry,
some grow it from the soil,
some build it in a steeple,
some show it through their toil...
Some breathe it into music,
some mold it into art,
some shape it into bread loaves,
some hold it in their heart.
For all you are, for all you do,
May everything beautiful in life come to you.
Happy Birthday
I won't be needing another gift...
this one was perfect.
Take care,
~Natalie
2 comments:
So sweet!
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