BIRTHDAY GIRL

2008 marked the year I turned 35. This year it fell on a Saturday – which almost never happens and I wanted it to be memorable. I felt I had a lot to celebrate and be grateful for. I don’t know what it is, but I feel really good these days. I’ve had 3 pregnancies and 2 children. I have girlfriends who within the past 2 years have lost their babies, one at 15 months; another at childbirth. My youngest turned 1 two days before my birthday and we celebrated his milestone before I headed out with girlfriends to celebrate my own. He’s happy, he’s healthy and by the grace he's HERE. Life is so fragile and so very, very precious, how can you not celebrate every breath when so many have so little? Therefore, I planned an evening to remember, and with the help of the Creator and some very good friends and family, it was a blast. Mind you - we did very little. Dinner and drinks at a lounge downtown, a cab ride to Lotus, crashing at the Hilton in midtown and then brunch the following morning. Nothing in comparison to the events that took place during a night on the town 10-15 years earlier, nevertheless for a mother of two now living in the suburbs, it was fabulous. I even had the nerve to get hit on!

What I did not miss about living it up was not being able to remember that final hour - the babbling; stumbling into bed head first; one shoe on and one shoe off; cotton mouth; tangled morning hair; bleeding eye makeup; and worst of all, the head swim! Just thinking about it I get sick. Thank goodness I didn’t lose my birthday gift – a watch from my husband – I didn’t get a chance to tighten up the links before taking it on the town.
Anyway, I've said all this to say I think it’s important that we all take those moments to enjoy being young now and again – without going overboard, I might add. Dressing up, feeling good about yourself and just having a plain old good time.

The Movie, “Sex in the City” came out that same weekend and I thought we’d have a kind of Sex in the City themed weekend. I wanted to see the movie to start things off right, but it didn’t work out. We made plans the following day that also fell through at the last minute and some of us were a little apprehensive about what we were going to do. Although, when you just go where the world takes you, most of the time it turns into a nice surprise. Let that be a lesson to all you planners, all you list makers, and scheduling freaks. Carpe Diem! And get on board the ride of a lifetime, let go and let the universe take you where it wants it you to go. You might be a little dizzy afterwards, but at least you’ll come home smiling. And in the millennium, sometimes that's all you need to make it all better - for now. PEACE.

The Thing Called LOVE

I was recently asked by a co-worker if I have a favorite among my two children. My co-worker happens to be blessed with a beautiful 14-year old daughter whom her world revolves around. “No,” I replied, “they are completely different and I love them the same”. She nods her head as if in understanding, but there was something in her eyes that made me believe she was still uncertain. We’ve had conversations in the past where she wondered if it was possible that a mother could love her children equally. It’s an uncomfortable subject, but I can understand why she may be confused. A mother of one child may feel they have so much love for that child that she couldn’t comprehend the thought of “splitting up and sharing” that love with another. They’re simply afraid that there may not be enough love to go around…
My feelings on the subject is that if one thinks about LOVE in terms of measurement (how much, how little, how often) then one may fear this type of circumstance when considering having more than one child; which is why love must not be thought of in terms of measurement. Our world would have you believe that LOVE, like clean air, water, land or oil is the type of resource in danger of running out. That is man’s view of LOVE, and like everything else, he selfishly attempts to hoard it for fear he will lose it. We must take it upon ourselves to remember that man cannot define what he did not create, nor does he have any control over it. This is so for the thing called LOVE. Once you understand this, it is then you will develop a different idea of LOVE. Some cultures believe that the Creator is LOVE manifested, all things in nature are created from this LOVE and it is this same LOVE that keeps everything and everyone going and living. How then can we attempt to box up something so awesome, so eternal and plop it into our dictionary between the words louver and low?
Let us then humor ourselves, take Webster’s out of the equation and rethink everything we know about this entity called LOVE. Maybe take it a step further and cease to use it to describe our feelings or emotions. So now if someone were to ask if I have a favorite child, I think about my daughter’s laugh; my son’s smile; my daughter’s kisses; my son’s bear hugs and I enjoy the overwhelming feelings of emotion that brings tears to my eyes. Each one of them has a special something that I treasure, something unique that brings value to my world. So if there are many ways to enjoy and value life then there must be an infinite number of ways to cherish and be cherished. Infinite, abundant and more than enough to go around. PEACE.