Remember

So people ask me, "When is your birthday?"  Its December 11.  "How old are you?"  No real idea.  "What?  Why don't you know?"  Not that important.  Old enough to drive. Old enough to vote.  Old enough to smoke.  Old enough to drink whatever beverage I choose.  And my passport stays good for 10 years.  Not old enough to quit working and called it retired.  I'm somewhere in between all of that. So I'm good.  "Well how old are you?"  I was born in 1976, and I figure I'm 30 and change.  "Can't you do the math?"  Yeah, but that isn't that important to me either, you can do the math.  Its the problem of a December birthday that is 2 weeks before Christmas.  By time we get it all figured out, the year is over and you're confused about 2014 and 2015 and not wanting to charge me more than I owe.  Birthdays are big days for mothers.  I think you should wish moms a happy birthday and give them a hearty congratulations.  Pregnancy, birthing and parenting isn't easy.  Moms need a congratulations for pulling all of that off.  I really wasn't that involved in getting born.  .

I got married on my birthday.  This makes me happy.  I promise you I didn't get the bum end of the deal on the whole wedding/ anniversary date thing.  It really redeemed the whole thing.  In contrast to my birthday not being a big deal, my anniversary I see as a very big deal.  Its something I was and am and will be involved in until I die.  That's a big deal.  And I like it.  I never really thought I was cut out for marriage but I believe I was called to it and I'm thankful for it everyday.  I REMEMBER that.
Being born two weeks before Christmas means that everyone has grades do, a christmas concert that they need to practice for (or worse, put together a costume for), there is a PTA meeting, the last dental appointment, the last ....you see what I'm saying?  Its ok, I've made my peace with it but just don't ask me to get excited about my birthday.  I like the cake, I like the ice cream, dispense with the formality.  An anniversary in December, two weeks before Christmas gets the same kind of hiccups.  That's ok.  My anniversary I like spending doing fairly mundane things with my husband.  I like to go for lunch and sit and laugh and enjoy coffee with him.  You know, one of the best gifts he ever gave me was learning to drink a hot beverage.  I understand a person my not like coffee (makes no sense but whatever) but there is a camaraderie about hot beverages though that cold beverages don't enjoy.  So he tried for 6 months to drink coffee.  When he couldn't get it, he switched to hot chocolate and now in later years, to tea.  I make him tea while I make my coffee everyday. It may honestly be the fellowship of the mug.. not entirely sure.  Probably going to need another 60 years of research to get it figured out.

Anyway, so this year, I have these lovely friends.  Quite a number of them really, and they spend the day dinging my facebook page with kind well wishes.  A few in my inbox reminding of funny things from back in the day that made me smile because I remembered the person and I could hear in my head the person's voice and that made me remember old times.  I had a friend who decided my birthday was a nice occassion to throw a party and ask all these ladies to come for the visit.  And I enjoyed hearing their stories and laughing together and enjoying nice dessert and good coffee.  It was a birthday.  And I think I'll try to remember it for awhile.  I may not remember the conversations word for word but I think I'll keep their hearts for a while (in the most un-Edgar Allan Poe way) and put them on the chatsky shelf of my mind and admire the beauty of the people that God has blessed me to know in so many corners of the world and the wit and wisdom with which they have so freely shared.  I wouldn't trade a grey hair.  I wouldn't trade a bump in the road because its meant a person in my path and a lesson to marvel and be curious about.