A Special Day

Today is a very special day. It’s my Dad’s 70th birthday.

My heart is filled with happiness and appreciation. It’s a huge milestone for anyone, but to have my Dad reach this age, and get to celebrate with him, is a blessing I don’t take for granted. While in this day and age, seventy certainly isn’t considered “old age,” it’s still something to be seriously enjoyed.

And, seriously celebrate it, we are.

It means more to me, because my Mom passed away when she was only 52. I fully understand that there are no guarantees in life, for any of us. We aren’t guaranteed to live to be seventy years old, and our parents and loved ones

We’re filled with joy and gratitude to celebrate today.

aren’t promised this accomplishment either. Whenever someone tells me they don’t like to pay tribute to a birthday, or it makes them sad to see so many birthday candles on a cake, I truly don’t understand this. Growing older, and having a lot of candles on a birthday cake, is a huge blessing. A blessing to be embraced.

“This is a big deal,” I told my Dad, “and we’re going to enjoy the whole weekend.”

And enjoy it, we have.

His birthday isn’t about gifts and lavish presents, it’s about being with family and letting him know how much we care about him. We’ve tried to make him feel special all weekend, and today, we’ll do it again. We’ve had the parties, birthday cakes, and celebrations with friends and family.

But today, his actual birthday, we get to spend with him. Just us. Alone. I am filled with joy and gratitude for this day. We don’t usually get to spend our birthday’s together, and it’s a “gift” to be together today.

“What do you want to do on your actual birthday?” I asked my Dad.

“It doesn’t matter,” he replied. He doesn’t like to be the center of attention, and we’ve been making a lot of fuss over him this past weekend.

“But it does matter to us,” I said, “So you better tell us what you want to do, or we’ll have to figure it out ourselves, and you might not like what we come up with.”

He decided on a museum visit, lunch out, maybe a walk, and his favorites for dinner. We’ll follow this with an ice cream run and a ride to see the holiday lights around town. It will be a fun day. Each of us has planned something special to say to him, at dinner. Words from our hearts, to a man we absolutely adore.

If you have an important occasion to celebrate, make sure you do it. Make a big deal out of it. Enjoy it. We have to make the most out of the joyful times in life, and appreciate them for what they are. Don’t let precious moments pass by without taking the time to celebrate them. Life is filled with positive and negative experiences, but savoring the good times, when you’re blessed to have them, is what life is all about.

Find meaning each day,