Tag: birthdays

Celebrating Life: Birthdays in My Family

The month of April starts the birthday season in my family, including my own. There are nine all together from April 1 to May 29. There are few family members whose birthday is in other months of the year and they are the lucky ones because I never forget their birthday.

Ever since I turned sixty I have enjoyed gathering my friends together and celebrating my birthday with them. This year I was planning to host another party, then life got away on me and I decided that this year I would rather meet with them individually. Larger groups are harder for me now because it is difficult to hear and carry on a conversation with all the background noise. I sometimes get a bit overwhelmed with all the energy generated when my friends gather together. We are a happy group with lots of laughing and fun stories to share with one another. I love them all for their enthusiasm and excitement for living. Still life has been very busy for me these past few months as I mentioned so I am looking forward to a quieter type of celebration this year.

I have five grandchildren, four of which have birthdays during the month of April and May. It is an exciting time for them and I want to celebrate with each of them over cake and ice cream. There is something about being with a child when they mark that special moment recognizing they are a whole year older. My youngest will be four this year and he is looking forward to starting school in the fall. My oldest is turning fifteen and she is definitely a teenager looking for adventure and hanging out with friends. The other two will be ten and eight. The first a boy and the second a girl. Turning ten is a big deal. It marks the beginning of adolescence. Turning eight means you are no longer just a little girl, rather you are coming into your own and your personality is blossoming.

I will be seventy-one this year and for me that is a full step over the threshold of the seventies. I am here now living and loving my life in this decade. I am embracing my age and all that comes with it. This past year has been a bit of an adjustment period. I settled into my life in the seniors residence, got involved in volunteer work at my church and spent time with my youngest grandson learning to play and have fun.

My son who turns forty-seven this year has lived on the other side of the ocean for many years. It has been a long time since we have celebrated our birthdays together. His is in early May. It is hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I have a son that old since I still feel that young myself sometimes.

My son-in-law has his birthday this week. He is like a son to me. I have known him since he was sixteen years old and first started dating my daughter. He has always called me mom. Now he calls me Nana. I have been witness to his incredible life journey from a young teenager to a grown man in his forties running a business and providing for his family.

My nephew and two nieces also celebrate their birthdays during this time. They all live south of the border so I don’t get to see them in person. Still I mark their special day remembering to send birthday wishes to them on our FAMJAM What’s App conversation. It keeps us all connected.

Having a birthday season in my family means taking time out every week to acknowledge and be a witness to the many ages and stages of life everyone is going through on their own and all of us together. I am at the helm of the birthday boat this year and give thanks for each and everyone of my family members.

So glad to have us all celebrating together during this special birthday season!

Posted on by Beth 1

Spring Has Arrived

Photo by Irina Iriser on Pexels.com

Spring arrived and is now blessing us with all the wonderful signs of new life. I was born in the Spring and my mother often told me it was very hot that year. Born on a Sunday in 1954 and this year my birthday is on a Sunday again. Sunday’s Child is full of Grace…… I am not sure if that is true of me or not. I just know that Spirituality has been at the centre of my life for as long as I can remember. It has taken on many different forms over the years as I have matured and broadened my perspective. Still I never lost my faith or if I did it was short lived.

Spring keeps hope alive and boy do we need it these days with all the ways we are being restricted and our lives so drastically affected by the presence of a virus that is so smart and so invasive it has caught the world by surprise and has many of us scrambling just to stay alive.

For me, this is a time of multiple opportunities to determine what I want my life to look and feel like. Often before my birthday I have a strong feeling of things in my life coming to an end. Sometimes it is a relationship, a job or maybe even the death of a loved one. I lost two family members very close to my birthday over the years. I have also been blessed with the birth of one son and three grandchildren close to my birthday. The cycle of life.

So this time of year we call “birthday season”. There are 22 people in my family including my sister, her children and grandchildren, me and my children and grandchildren and all the son and daughter in laws. Of that crew there are 11 birthdays between April 1 and May 10. That is half the people all celebrating together. Now if you are into Astrology at all that means a lot of Aries and Tauras’ people. I also have 5 dear friends who celebrate their birthday in May so I am kept busy keep track of everyone’s special day. I like to send cards out and when I am able a special gift. We Tauras’ are very loyal friends and stick together.

I am always amazed at how much comes up for me around my birthday. I am showered with birthday wishes, gifts and cards as well messages of love and compassion. Over the years it has been a wonder to me that so many people remember my birthday. When I was still living in Victoria I would have a birthday gathering of friends where we ate and celebrated all our birthdays. Food was the main attraction. I loved doing it because so many of my friends came from different places in my life and often did not know each other. The fun was watching them all interact and discover how they knew me. Over the years they became familiar with each other and looked forward to the annual get together. It was such a delight for me.

The year I turned 65 I moved back to Ontario to be closer to my daughter and her family and closer to Berlin where my son and his family live. It cuts 5 hours from the flight time to fly from Toronto than from Victoria. Sadly my trip last year planned to celebrate all our birthdays together was cancelled by COVID. So I wait patiently now for to visit them. For now I am happy to FACETIME and chat on the phone though it is a poor substitute for holding them in my arms. Long distance relationships whether with family or friends can have their challenges and in these times we can be grateful for all the technological advances.

I hope you are finding the joy and wonder Spring offers us and that you continue to have hope for a better future.

Posted on by Beth 1