Birthdays

For a long time, I measured my life by where I was living for each of my birthdays. I don't think I had two of them in the same house until I was around ten.

The first one that I remember was when we first moved to the Bahamas. I knew my 4th birthday was coming soon. I remember my mother cutting some pink and white gingham cloth. I remember asking, "Are you making a dress for me?" My grandfather said, "No, it's for me. I asked your mother to make me a new pink dress." I still remember how funny it was to picture Grandaddy in a pink gingham dress.

We didn't have a WalMart or even a local Dollar Tree to buy presents; all of them had to be ordered on the mainland and shipped. One of my favorite gifts for my 6th birthday was an inflatable swimming ring that looked like a turtle. We swam everyday at the beach, so I used it often. My cousin also liked it, so I gave it to her the next year for her birthday.

I remember having a real birthday party when I was eight. We were living in Nassau and I had made lots of friends at school. We had it at the beach. As was our tradition, my father would give us a birthday spank (to help us grow..smile) He still feels bad because I cried. He thought he did it too hard, but now I know I was just embarassed.

Of course, as a young teen, I had my share of slumber parties. My two brothers were always pests at those times...trying to listen in or trying to scare us. Either that, or they begged to spend the night somewhere else, because we made too much noise.

My very favorite birthday was my fortieth. We went camping in northern Maine, at Mattawamkeag Wilderness Campground. It's 8 miles down a twisting dirt road, near a rocky river. There's nothing like the smell of perked coffee over a campfire, and I couldn't resist having some. Of course, I couldn't sleep. So, my husband and I talked and talked and broke down a lot of "walls" we had built between us. The next night, I had another cup of coffee and we talked most of that night too. We fell in love all over again that year. I am so thankful for a husband who loves me more and more each year.

I can't remember all my birthdays, but I know God does. He even knows how many I will have. I plan to enjoy each one, to consider them a gift from Him.