Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Unexpectedly Grateful Heart - part 14/The Pretend Birthday

My friend (who shall remain nameless to protect her innocence) posted on Facebook today that she is pretending today is her birthday. "What fun!" I thought. I actually considered pretending it's my birthday, too. That would give me an excuse to break out the gluten-free Gigi's cupcakes wasting away in my barn freezer. I have another freezer closer to my house, but decided, in the interest of my waistline, that I should keep those confectionary delights as far away as possible. 

Ahh, buttercream icing with sugar pearls, so very lovely.  But we digress. 

I've pondered the whole concept of a pretend birthday, and I think it might actually be a good idea.  In fact, it's a kind of Thanksgiving idea. When we celebrate someone else's birthday, we are celebrating the life that day represents. When someone helps me celebrate my birthday, we are, in a way, celebrating my life. Bear with me here. If I decide to designate today as an additional birthday celebration day, I can spend an extra day to celebrate my life. The good, bad, ugly, and beautiful things in my life have all been used to mold me into the woman I have become. I could be better than I am, and I should be better than I am, but thank God, I am certainly better than I used to be. 

Today, I'm spending the rest of this day celebrating my Birth Day and all the more than 20,000 days that have followed. I'm giving thanks for making it through. I've lived a LOT of days, not all of them pleasant. It seems, though, that all of them were necessary to make me into the almost grown-up Leanna that I have become, so I'm also giving thanks for every one of those days, good and bad alike. 

I'm also thankful for my friend who started the pretend birthday business today! Happy Pretend Birthday, my fun loving friend! 

Why don't you join us today in celebrating the life you have been given and the way it has been used to make you more like you were meant to be? 

Happy Pretend Birthday to one and all!

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