Birthdays

Today is my birthday! And yes, I am still in Africa. Although by now I'm sure I'm really ready to come home and see my husband.

I love birthdays, mine and other peoples. I always have. I just think there's something really special about birthdays. My husband likes to give me a hard time because I will stretch out my birthday celebration for as long as I possibly can. I will go out to lunch or dinner or visit with friends or whatever with different groups of friends over the course of several weeks.

In part it's just fun to have a reason to get together to visit with friends. But also, I think a birthday is really intended to be a celebration of a person's life. And you can't pack the celebration of a whole life into one day. That's just not sufficient celebration.

So I spread it out, I celebrate with as many of my friends as possible. If you've ever read the Lord of the Rings Series, the hobbits have a tradition where on your birthday you give a gift to your friends. Not the other way around. What I like about that tradition is the way it recognizes that other people have helped to mold and shape your life and who you are.

Although I am far away from the many people who have helped shape my life and who I am, today I give thanks for being blessed with such wonderful friends and family.

Who is it that has helped make you who you are? Have you ever told them? Maybe you should.