There was one time when I was a teen, and my brother happened to have a special occasion on the same day, which brought family over to celebrate. I came home to be with family. I recognize that they were celebrating his occasion, but I guess I thought someone would have remembered it was my birthday and would have at least said something on the side to me, but not one person, not even the people who should have known, said anything to me. It was my special day, too, and I got totally ignored. I'd have to say that was probably the worst birthday.
Another birthday, sometime later, I was celebrating with family, and we got a phone call. After the phone disconnected, we were all told that a neighbor of mine just passed away. She was the sweetest person anyone could know, and had struggled with 3-4 years of cancer. She was a youth leader with the girls at our church, and I remember how excited she was when she got to work with me, because with me, she had the opportunity to get to know all of the girls in our family. She was so encouraging to me during a time that I needed it. So of all the days in the year, she ended up passing away on my birthday. I don't think it ruined my celebration completely, but it certainly reminds me every now and then the special day we shared together--one of us celebrating the day life began, the other the day hers ended and was delivered from pain.
I couldn't help, but think of Mom on this occasion; Mine was the last birthday she celebrated before passing away. I fondly remember sharing with her over a course of time the ice cream cake that I got--because everyone else forgot about it. This time, I couldn't help, but request another ice cream cake in memory of that time. It was nearing the end of her life, and she was beginning to lose her appetite, but she allowed for a tiny slice of cake. Remembering her brought a few tears, but it was all good.
I took a walk also, and it was a nice walk. Since construction took out my old walking route, it's been a little bit harder to walk, but a little while ago, I discovered that it was no problem walking down to another park I used to go to with my cousins when they came to visit my maternal grandparents. It was only a few minutes away, and the area is close enough to where I am now, that I tried out walking there, and even though it's not quite as picturesque, it's quite a satisfactory walk, and I feel much better when I come back home.
Besides my birthday, I've been busy doing fun creative things with my limited video-making skills, sharing things from my latest trip online, and trying to keep myself busy with working, though it's been a little bit challenging since I got a mild sickness, but it's all better now. I'm looking forward to being able to go down to Southern Utah in a few weeks and spend a few days there. Hopefully, I'll be able to visit my aunt for a little while. She was older than my mom, and she's declining a little also, but it will be nice to see her.
Life keeps moving forward, and even though so many discouraging things keep happening, I'm not going to let it take me down. That's the stubborn side of me.
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| My birthday fortune cookie message. |
