Since I can remember, I’ve always looked forward to celebrating my birthday. Being with family and friends, having cake and ice cream, singing happy birthday, blowing out candles to make a wish and of course the occasional gift or two always put a smile on my face. As I’ve matured,  however, the anticipation of celebrating my birthday along with some of my favorite rituals have faded over time. Maybe it’s because as we get older people don’t make a big of a deal about birthdays as they did when we are younger. While I appreciate each year I’ve been blessed to see, I do miss that feeling of butterflies I used to get the day before my birthday and then the day of wondering what my family and friends had planned for my special day. Each year, my husband makes me feel special, which I greatly appreciate, but this year, for the first time, my two year old daughter made my birthday even happier by bringing out my inner child. She was so excited that it was my birthday and insisted on singing happy birthday to me throughout the course of the day with a big smile on her face. Then she insisted that I wear a party hat she supplied because what’s a birthday without a birthday hat? “Oh, boy mommy! Look at your birthday cake!” Quinn clapped and giggled. “It’s time to sing happy birthday to mommy!” The joy she had on my special day truly filled me up with happiness. Celebrating my birthday with my little girl (and my husband and mother too) reminds me of how much I love my life and family and how grateful I am to live another year. Thanks for making my birthday even happier my sweet little girl.

All the best,

Tanya