Our little family has a string of birthdays starting with Scott in August, me in September, and Shawn in October. I love birthdays!
As soon as Scott’s birthday is over, I start my birthday countdown. Oh, who am I kidding. I start reminding my guys three months out!
I can only imagine the anticipation my son feels as he celebrates our birthdays and thinks about his own day coming up.
We’ve never had large celebrations (I think six school friends was the most we’ve ever let him invite), but we’ve always tried to make it special.
I lied.
We hosted a nice sized party back home a couple years that was super fun with our families and closest of friends.
Over the years, he’s had many birthday themes: Thomas and Friends, insects, Mario and Luigi, Angry Birds, solar system, Mt. Rushmore, Minecraft and most recently Pokemon (and much to his despise, we still haven’t okayed Pokemon Go). We’ve had invitations, cakes, games, and decorations to match every theme.
Sometimes I go a little overboard with the birthday decorations, but when you have one child you don’t have to have a repeat performance for anyone else. I’ve always said if we had more children, all the crafty projects Scott and I did for games and decorating wouldn’t have happened.
I warned Shawn a couple years ago that once he got into the double digits, decorations wouldn’t be so elaborate. But I am proud to say, that every one of his birthday cakes was made and decorated by us.
What I pictured in my mind was rarely the reality, but Scott was always there pitching in (and sometimes taking over) reminding me that simpler was better. In the end, Shawn loved every single homemade cake whether it was lopsided or not.
Earlier this week, our son celebrated his 11th birthday. Eleven! While he thrives and flourishes, I’m still trying to shed that baby weight.
Okay. I really can’t blame that on him, but it’s what mothers do, right?
For the first time ever, his birthday party with his friends was not in our home (something else I really do prefer), but at the bowling alley (what can I say…there’s no bowling alley at the Sola’s). Our small group laughed, encouraged and just had fun.
He had so much fun bowling with friends, playing Wii games with his Dad and anticipating his actual birthday the following day, that he just couldn’t sleep. He kept coming into our room to tell us he couldn’t fall sleep which of course kept us up as well.
Needless to say, it was a reminder of all those sleep-deprived nights as all new parents experience. Sometimes I wonder how on earth we functioned having a baby in the house, but as all folks know, you just do.
Birthdays in this family just lead into other celebrations that come as we wind down the year: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the most important birthday of all that falls on Christmas Day.
Jesus’ birthday often gets overshadowed with numerous expensive and outrageous gifts under the tree. This is another thing that has never happened in this household, nor the household I grew up in.
Birthdays should always be about what truly matters…the person whom you are celebrating. It’s not about the gifts, but the friends and family you choose to surround yourself with.
Just like Christmas, the specialness of the day shouldn’t be what’s inside the pretty wrapped package, but reminding the person why they are so special to you.
I think Shawn’s favorite gift this year was a card he received from his adopted Grandpa he visits with weekly at the home. Inside the card was a handwritten message: “Happy Birthday! It is nice to know you. Love you!”
Shawn looked up at me, smiled and said, “He loves me!”
That, my friends, is what birthdays are all about.
