Another Birthday, Another Ball Game, Another Big Reminder

image1Why is it the older we get the less we feel like celebrating our birthdays? We knock ourselves out planning parties for babies who have no clue what is going on and then when we reach those senior age milestones when we really should be rejoicing at reaching another year, we downplay the idea trying pretend we are not aging, not a day over 40something.

When you feel like you have been granted 9 lives, birthdays feel like a blessing. The earliest birthday I recall is when my mom made me a bunny shaped cake covered in coconut. Growing up celebrating with my lil’ sis whose birthday is March 1st only doubled the fun. And who can forget those slumberless parties as teens when friends gathered in your basement giggling and offering earrings that turned your newly pierced ears green. Ah, part of the joy was picking out that perfect present at the brand new Northland Mall.

But wB-partyhat I associate most with my birthday is ball games because my birthday always fell during the height of basketball season. In the day before Instagram, I freeze framed those priceless moments in my mind when my folks came to my game carrying a cake and teammates gathered round in a corner of the gym to celebrate. Regardless of the outcome of the game, I felt like a winner.

What makes birthdays so meaningful is not really the fanfare, cards, or cake –although I do LOVE cake – it is knowing that family, friends, colleagues, teammates, and players want to commemorate the day you were born.

So how am I celebrating this birthday? I’ll be in a bus on a road trip to Zurich to coach my team in a Swiss basketball tournament. We will laugh and sing and share chocolate cake and Cutie Pies and I will feel like a kid again. We will enjoy being together, sharing the moment, knowing that we will never pass this way again.

From the surprise party my husband threw me in a Swiss wine cellar, to the unexpected cakes appearing in my classes, to the time my friend and her daughter decorated my homeroom, bringing cheesecake for breakfast, the birthday memories blur. The place and party may change but what remains the same is the date on the calendar, and the way the people around you fill your heart, the touching little ways they remind you they are happy that you are still around to celebrate.

Oh yeah, even though my back may be breaking, my knees aching, my legs quaking, I am dancing today!

Posted in education, family, humor, inspiration, relationships, social view.

26 Comments

  1. Keep on dancing birthday girl, it’s a shame we can’t share some cake! 😉 Birthdays remind me too of all the ones I have spent with and without my loved ones, but I have yet to spend one on my own… Hugs and love to you special lady, who lights up the world with her words and actions! xxxx

  2. Some birthdays are eagerly anticipated, others not. It kind of depends on where you are at the moment. In this case, you’re busy with your team. Maybe another year will be different. I still remember my fiftieth, but most are quietly enjoyable – special in my own head more than anything else. When I was working fulltime, I usually tended to take a vacation day on my birthday; I felt as if it was a holiday to me anyway!

    • Oh Lynne what better idea than taking a vacation from work on one’s birthday. You reminded me it’s okay today to have a lazy PJ day especially now!

  3. Happy birthday, Sis! It is so typically you to be spending your birthday helping others. In this case, it is giving teenage girls a chance to gain from all that sports has to offer. I know that even with all the challenges you face in the year ahead, your heart is full because you LOVE so deeply and are LOVED so deeply.

    • If I do manage to keep on giving even during my own personal challenges, it is because I know sissies got my back always and help pick me up after every fall.

    • Thanks Tinie. I always remember how nobody knows how to throw a party like you. I can still picture those streamers hanging in the portacabin and taste that cheesecake! My best breakfast ever!

  4. Ah! We did that ear-piercing event together. Dr. Maciejczyk, in Milledgeville, remember? After he did one of my ears, I remember that he asked me if I wanted the other one pierced !!! I think he compared it to the beheading of a queen!! Earrings were always just the right gift. And, oh those slumber parties! Luckily Ma and Pa could shut us down in the basement! Best wished, dear friend!

    • Ear piercing seemed so audacious, so painful and such a rite of passage back then. We never would have dreamed of piercing a nose or tongue! Ouch. You were short, I was tall, you blond, me brunette, you organized, me disorganized…the list of goes on. But if opposites attract, no wonder we made such a great pair with a friendship lasting a lifetime!

  5. sis,
    And I am dancing with you! LOVED celebrating bdays with you and our angel food cake! I have high hopes in the very near future we will be celebrating our bdays together in the twin cities….as near-neighbors! Love you MUCHO birthday girl!

    • Happy Birthday Babe! Yes, we were so lucky to share birthdays, ball games and bunk beds. Everything is sweeter when shared with a sister, especially “angel” food cake which was surely named after our middle sister!

    • Oh Helene, I am not always positive, but on my worst down in the dumps, oh woe is me days, I take a hot bath, have a good hard cry and get rid of all those negative toxins. Having friends including online helps me see the lighter side of life.

  6. Happy Birthday, Pat!! Birthdays ought to be celebrations — sadly, the older we get, the more people we know who are no longer with us to celebrate. I don’t like to think of it as aging; rather, I think of it as another year of knowledge, another year of self-improvement, another year to laugh and write and spoil Domer and Dallas! You’re blessed to be surrounded with the sport you love on your big day — since mine falls during September, I could usually be found on a tennis court, ha!

  7. I’m glad you are able to find the happy in birthdays! I still enjoy a heartfelt celebration! Enjoy yours! 🙂

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