Birthdays

In just a few minutes, on March 15, 2011, my 57th birthday will be upon me.  At this age, birthdays arrive without a lot of fan fare, with barely a thought before they arrive.  I don't know about other people, but personally, I don't mind having a birthday and have no problem acknowledging my age or growing older.  It's natural and as they say, "better than the alternative."  But birthdays are different now.  Unlike the happy anticipation and excitement we experience as children, I am actually a little ambivalent about this annual acknowledgement of the day I was born.  It may truly be "just another day."  And that's not bad.  The older I get,  the focus of the day seems more appropriately shifted to my mother, the amazing woman who brought not only me, but six other children into the world, all within the span of ten years.  (I'm the middle child!).  Ever the trouble maker, I surprised my mother by arriving a month earlier than anticipated, just one year, one week, and one day after her third child, my brother Steven, was born.  Steven and I missed being "Irish twins" by just nine days.

My birthdays, from this point on, are becoming more a grateful nod to the generous life of Virginia McGeehan O'Farrell, and to my father as well.  They were such loving and devoted parents.  My brothers, sisters, and I were exceptionally fortunate to be their children.

So tomorrow, if there are candles to be blown on a cake (with Henry's help, of course) I will make the secret wish I always make, and quietly say "thank you" to my Mom, lost nine years ago, in April of 2002.  Happy Birthday Mom - it's as much your day as it is mine. 

Clip art:  http://cdn.dailyclipart.net/wp-content/uploads/medium/Birthday9.jpg