Happy Birthday!

Helloooooo! I have a birthday coming up in less than a week and am very excited about it. I will be 38 and feel like I am only getting better in every way. It is pretty fantastic. So I am thinking about my special day and what I plan on doing. Not sure yet, but I will keep you posted. One thing is for sure, I won't do anything I don't really want to do. It is something that I learned from my dad. I have never seen him on his actual birthday. A week before and maybe a week after, but never on the actual day. He is almost always in the Caribbean somewhere. I don't know if I ever asked him about his birthday ritual or not but I got the picture. Celebrate yourself! It is your special day.

Now, so many people get freaked out at the thought of aging. Stressed that they aren't where they want to be or doing what the should be doing. Does a baby ever feel stressed that it isn't doing what it is supposed to be doing? Why do we grow up to decide where we should or shouldn't be instead of loving what is and being where we are? What happens that keeps us from being ok with the fact that years come and go, our age increases, and, at some point we will all kick the bucket. It is just the way it is. Now, the quality of all of the in-between is up to us. How we live our lives and how we take care of ourselves is our responsibility. But to worry about the number, well, I think taking your body's needs seriously will help the number be a blip on your radar. You don't have to buy into aging as pure deterioration. I can honestly say that I look and feel better now than I did 10 years ago and I plan on keeping up that trend for some time.

So now, here I am, turning 38, feeling great, wanting to celebrate (yes, I rhymed on purpose). I asked a group of my cyclists if they too celebrated themselves by taking a trip or a day off of work (or away from the kids) and all but one said NO! What the frak??? Look people, this is your holiday. Your special day. It was the day you came into the world. It was a celebrated day, a big friggin deal! How can we NOT celebrate the anniversary of our arrival? It is awesome, you are awesome!

Try it. Think of your birthday as a holiday. Take time to do whatever it is you want to do. Make it a day that you are celebrated by you (if by no one else). We celebrate children's birthdays all of the time. I think it is a lot harder to make it to 38 than to make it to 5. Seriously, no one is taking care of this lady here anymore… I am doing most of the work and I deserve a day to celebrate my hard work! So do you. So take it! Happy Birthday to you!

xoxox a