Thought for the day - birthdays

i will be the first to admit that i am not good at keeping up with some people's birthdays.  i used to be great at it growing up, but these days not so much.  There are birthdays that are ingrained into my brain.  i know all of my immediate family's birthdays.  Mom's birthday is tomorrow, she would have been 72...wow.  June's birthday is Monday...i think.  i remember my cousin Monica's birthday because it is the same as mine...December 5th....so is Lucy Reich's, she was a minister's wife at First Baptist when i was growing up.  Janet and Danielle have the same birthday, November 5th....it's easy to remember because they're a month before mine exactly.

i do enjoy celebrating birthdays.  i enjoy hosting the party :)  This past February, we had a great group of people over for Michael's birthday.  i had a great time throwing the party, something i really love to do.  And i enjoy finding the perfect gift...something that at times i am really, really good at!  But, birthdays can also suck when you're poor.  My niece, Margaret, had a birthday last month and i still have not gotten anything in the mail to her.  It's not because i don't care, quite the opposite.  It's just that i am too embarrassed by the fact that i live paycheck to paycheck and cannot really afford to get her anything.  And, she's at that age where just getting a card is not fair, especially from her uncle.  Admittedly, we do not know each other that well and only see each other once or twice a year due to living in different states and as much as i would enjoy just simply writing her a birthday letter, it just does not feel right.  i have also thought of giving her some of her grandmother's jewelry, but i don't know if she even wears it or would appreciate it.  i'm sure she would appreciate it, but i don't know what her taste is like.  Oh, well.

One day i'll win the lottery and birthdays won't be a problem anymore :)  Until then, i need to find some creative ways to celebrate birthdays.  i think this is on the brain because Mom's birthday is tomorrow and part of me longs for one of the old fashioned family birthday parties that we had.  It was always such a great time to just get together and be a family and celebrate life.  With that philosophy, celebrating birthdays is something i should probably do every day.  They are important.  They must be remembered.  i must remember that!

Cheers