It’s really a birthday getaway for me. There aren’t any exotic destinations planned, but you parents of young children know what a difference a few precious hours away can make in your marriage and, therefore, your parenting.
I feel differently about birthdays now. Sure, topping 40 was part of it. A friend is fond of describing 40-year-olds as being just as close to 60 as 20.
That’s from the fear-of-aging mindset. I’ve never had that. I had the ”fear of aging without a lick of sense” mindset.I used to relish birthdays for all the cake, the gifts, the cake, the attention and the cake. Now, I’m more prone to examining myself, my choices and my current circumstances.
I do still relish the cake, especially if created by my sister-in-law, Stephanie Keeler. That woman can really do something with some batter! (Okay, that is a blatant hint-hint!)
Perhaps that same biological clock that knew it was time to have babies also has a setting for goals and achievement. I’m not talking about becoming a regional vice president of a company but of finally taking better care of your health or mending fences or letting go of some emotional war wounds.
There’s nothing wrong with achieving career dreams. I have some of those yet to materialize, but when I look at my husband and our sons, my heart fills with something that has nothing to do with cake or my paycheck.
Soon, my church will move into its new sanctuary. Our pastor has encouraged us to realize that the church isn’t even for us, it’s for generations to come.
That’s an incredible way of thinking. It reaffirms that my life isn’t about me, it’s for generations to come. And as I nurture my children, I’m sewing seeds in them that will impact the wives and children they may have.
So, during my 43rd year on this planet, I am embracing the gifts I already have. I know that if I do the right thing with them, they’ll be gifts that keep on giving.
That does not mean, however, that I don’t want some cake!