Un Abrazo - Happy Birthday Pyper

[Dana (scribblers sanctuary)]

I love birthdays. All birthdays. Mine, yours, theirs. Doesn’t matter. Birthdays make me smile. I know a lot of people who find no joy in them at all. They see them as reminders of being older than they were yesterday. Opportunities to recount all the goals they didn’t achieve the previous year; all the things they didn’t do, didn’t accomplish, didn’t improve upon.

Not me. Where others’ birthdays are concerned, they give me the opportunity to celebrate their presence in my life. And while I should do it all year, birthdays single out a day for me to remind them how much they are loved, respected and valued. It’s a day set aside just for the sole purpose of celebration and gratitude. A day for me to say Thank you for making my world a better place; Thank you for being who you are; Thank you for who I am when I am with you.

As for my own, my birthday represents how far I’ve come. It’s a reminder of how joyful and purposeful life can be and that I only need choose a joyful and purposeful path to make it so. It reminds me that life is abundant, generous, lovely. My birthday reminds me that success is achievable, miracles are probable, happiness is a choice. It reminds me that I am better today than yesterday and growth and greatness, however personal, are possible. It reminds me that while my successes are fortuitous, they are not random.

There are those who wish people would ignore their birthdays with them. Leave it alone. To that I say, please forgive me, but I cannot. Because, you see, I need you to know how you have affected me. I need you to know that you are important, special, loved.

So, when I say to you, Happy Birthday, especially those of you who do not love your birthdays, consider yourself hugged and know that I say it with a most grateful heart for all you are and have been to me.

[peacenik]

I will never see another birthday, or for that matter, anyone else's birthday the same again.

[NatureJunkie]

You've pretty much summed up exactly how I feel about it, Dana. Very well said.

I missed a friend's birthday recently by a day. I called her up to apologize and I told her I wanted to take her out to lunch for a late celebration. She confided to me that no one else mentioned her birthday, not even her husband. It made me feel all the more sorry I had forgotten it, but all the more glad that I called. I don't believe anyone really MINDS having their birthday acknowledged, anymore that anyone minds getting a Valentine.

[Pypermarru1]

I could never have a problem with Birthdays - They're Wonderful.  It's just another excuse for me to hang out with friends/family. :0)

I've never been freaked out about aging -  besides, the alternative sucks....ha

BTW, having my name in a Scribbler title is a Shug moment all over again.  I love it - Thanks.