The 31 day writing challenge was a wonderful experience. I wrote about topics near and dear to my heart, and I met new friends from all over the world.
I must have lived in a writer’s fog for the entire month, because I emerged from the 31 day writing challenge on November 1, ready to resume “normal” life and here is what I found:
Overflowing laundry baskets, partially eaten hot pockets on paper plates scattered around the house (Did I feed my children vegetables even once in the last 31 days?), and project piles. I could tell where the 4th grader’s cereal box book report was created, where the 6th grader’s leaf collection was pieced together, and where I sat to scribble random thoughts at random times. And I’m pretty sure something waved at me from the bottom drawer of my fridge.
But all of this faded into the background when my 9 year old said, “Can we plan my birthday party now?”
Birthday parties are serious business at our house.
I LOVE birthdays. They are the only days in your life when people say “You’re alive! Let’s celebrate!”
You don’t have to do anything brilliant or creative or clever. You just have to be breathing.
Throwing a birthday party is a fun way I can tell my children ” I’m so glad you are here and I’m so glad I get to be your mommy!”
And in their world filled with expectations from school and chore lists from home, and questions like
“Are you ready yet?”
“Are you finished yet?”
“Come on, we need to go!”
They need a day to celebrate.
We’ve done princess birthdays,
pirate birthdays, and superhero birthdays. I’ve loved every one of them.
I also love my children’s birthdays because they remind me of God’s faithfulness. I spent a long time wondering if I would ever have children. Ten years, in fact, which feels like forever when you don’t know if the waiting will ever end. (Be sure to read Finding Hope in the Waiting .)
And this birthday felt important. Maybe it’s because Maggie is my middle child, the one who rarely finishes a sentence or makes a choice because she is sandwiched between two siblings who fully believe they can read her mind. Or maybe it’s because she’s at a point where she is questioning her own worth. I want to wrap her in my arms and say You are loved! You are not alone! You have purpose! I want to pour that truth into the depths of her heart.
So we celebrated Maggie’s double digit day in a big way.
When she hugged me at the end of the day and mumbled sleepily, “This was my best tenth birthday ever.” I knew we had celebrated well.
I’ve picked up all the paper plates with remnants of food (I think), and the project piles are gone. I’m still working up my courage to tackle the creature in the bottom of my refrigerator. But these things really are secondary, because 10 year old birthdays only come around once. Celebrating life is important.
I hope you find a way to make your day special, dear friend, for you, too, are worth celebrating.
You are loved. You are not alone. You have purpose.