Bomb Diggity Birthday

Well, that was an interesting birthday. My day started out with the smoke alarm waking me out of a sound sleep. For my birthday, my older daughter Jaime made me tea and pancakes and brought me breakfast in bed. Then I had the pleasure of watching her, my husband, and my two dogs perched on my bed, all watching *me* eat. Needless to say, we shared. Jaime then dragged our younger kidlet out of bed. Let's just say Delia wasn't quite ready to be woken up. Nothing like a sullen seven year old to throw a damper on the celebration. Ah, well. Went downstairs to find the house immaculate (another gift from the elder child.) Had a good hour to myself - not counting my shadow dog, Izzy, who follows me everywhere, and Delia, who felt the need to snuggle with me in my blanket while I scored a little time playing on the computer.

Then I got a phone call from my mother. If you take a sec to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the blog, you can see the nice glitter ribbon I have up in her honor. She had breast cancer 22 years ago. Just a few weeks ago, the doctor found a new lump. She had surgery this past Wednesday to remove it. Well, last night she developed intense pain in her leg. My husband, the nurse, advised her to get to the E.R. because it might be a possible blood clot from the surgery.

I picked her and my step-father up and away we went - first to a prompt care (because my mother did NOT want to go back to the hospital) and then to the E.R. (because the doctor at the prompt care told her they couldn't do the tests she needed, and to go to the hospital.) My mom kept commenting to any and all who would listen, in a litany of guilt: "This is my daughter, it's her birthday today." Seems that everyone felt a whole lot worse for me today, going through the worry and waiting with my mom, than I did myself. But in my mind, family comes first, regardless of plans. So honestly I wasn't upset that my day had been 'wasted' ... because it wasn't. It was just a little different from what I had expected the day to be.

So on my special day, I spent it at the side of my mom, as she waited in the hospital. Kind of ironic, since on this day 46 years ago, my mom had given birth to me in that very same hospital. Then, after hours of waiting, the results were in: no blood clot. The doctors don't know what caused the pain, but at least it didn't turn into a worst case scenario.

Home from the hospital, I had to endure another dreaded event: a makeover by my 13 year old daughter. I use makeup (sparingly) and I prefer comfy clothes. Jaime thinks I should awake my inner daffodil. The makeover included her picking out my clothes - a pair of slacks I haven’t fit into for 10 years, and a button up shirt that would have potentially burst and shot hapless buttons into people’s eyes. So, that part was scrubbed, even as Jaime was busily scrubbing my face with her fancy rotating gadget. I have one too, a simpler model. I call it a “washcloth.” Well, I sat as nicely as I could while she did my makeup, then she worked on my hair with the straightener. Let me explain about my hair. It is coarse and wiry with a lot of gray. Let’s just say my best styling options begin and end with a hat. So, by the end of the makeover, my poor burned hair stuck out like a frizzy halo around my head, and the makeup Jaime applied made me look like a goth hooker clown. And then we went out to dinner.

My birthday wrapped up at a Chinese buffet with my family. Plates piled high, we all enjoyed a nicer ending to the day - a day that might not have had such a nice outcome.

Part of the trick of riding out the wave of expectation is to simply have no expectations. In Chinese fortune cookie lingo: "He who expects nothing shall not be disappointed." Put another way, you just learn not to worry about your day, because what you expect may or may not happen. You just need to roll with it. Reminds me of something the apostle Paul wrote: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:12 - 13

Highlights of my day: I got breakfast in bed, a clean house, nice gifts and some wonderful birthday cards. Jaime called me the "almighty bomb diggity" in her card … and for a 13 year old to say that, you know that you rock as a parent! I know my family loves me, and I love each of them right back. So my birthday wasn't what I expected. But at least it was interesting. That’s how I try to enjoy all my days, the good with the bad. Because life is life … you never know what you’re going to get. And I’m content.