Today is my birthday. How do I feel? I feel pretty good, considering. The good thing is I don't need as much. I remember earlier birthdays feeling like it really needed to be a special day. We had to go somewhere, do something interesting, etc. Tonight we are having a picnic in our backyard. Sandwiches that we make ourselves with all the healthy fixings I like and kettle potato chips, unusual juices, fresh fruit. My #1 daughter is going to make a chocolate cake - out of the box - but I also have fresh strawberrys - great combination.
As I cleaned the patio table and positioned the chair cushions I thought about how my Auntie Charing celebrated her birthday. To her, a birthday was not a day to get, it was a day to give. She is an elderly widow who worked hard to support her family and lives very humbly. She came to this country a few years ago to take care of her aging father. She never owned her own home. She took care of my other Aunt's brain damaged son from an infant till his death as a young adult while his mother came to the United States to raise her other three children. This child was in a vegetative state. Auntie Charing's loving, warm tending to my cousin impressed me and still does. It touches my heart even as I think about it at this moment.
She came to live with us for awhile. She stayed in the same room with my mom. One year, at her birthday, she insisted on taking our whole family out to dinner. On her meager income she treated US on HER birthday. And she was completely and utterly happy doing it. She just beamed as we sat around the table having dinner. It was like magic.
I want to learn that kind of magic - the kind that allows a person to be completely and utterly happy while giving. Today I start by giving to my family on my birthday.
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