Journal: Birthdays

In our home February is full of birthdays. Three of our five children will count the candles on their cakes and we will celebrate the gift of their presence in our lives.

It was early in the pre-dawn hours on a cold Valentine’s Day with flurries in the air when my husband and I drove to the hospital to welcome our first. “We still haven’t settled on a name,” noted my husband. And so we batted around names settling on a boy’s name and a girl’s name in a relatively short amount of time. His birth was quick and his eyes were bright when he arrived. He will turn twenty-seven years old this Valentine’s Day.

Our youngest’s birth was more chaotic. I had gone in for a pre-natal visit at five weeks before her due date but the inability to pick up a steady heart rate on the monitor resulted in the doctor sending me to the hospital for an early delivery. I called my husband and shared with him this unexpected turn of events. He said he would be at the hospital as soon as he could, but he had to do a pre-school pick up and drop off first, as well as pull together lunch for our other children who were at home. Even with all of those boxes to check he arrived in time for her delivery. But those moments of uncertainty were fraught with chaos. Our newborn daughter spent an extra week in the hospital to help her with feeding and staying warm in those early days. Now, fourteen years later she is tall, calm, curious, grounded, and a comfort to many.

Our second born, a son, will turn twenty-five. He arrived ten days after his due date, our biggest baby and so delightful to hold in your arms. He was a chunky bundle, easy to rock and ease into sleep. He would wake up content from his naps, delighted by light dancing on the walls or the mobile overhead. He was an easy baby. I can remember when I first held him looking at him and thinking to myself, “We’re going to be friends forever.”

I’m not certain what is on our oldest son’s wish list, but I know that the twenty-five year old has been thinking a lot about the idea of going to a nice steak house and our youngest keeps whispering “symphony” in my ear. I imagine in some form or fashion both of those wishes will come true. How grateful I am for the presence of each of them in my life. They are uniquely and wonderfully made – gifts to God’s wonderful world.

May your February be filled with occasions to celebrate, to love and to live the best life possible. And may you treasure the uniqueness and wonder of those in your life.

Quotes with Walking Notes on Bryan Park

“Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.“
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.“
~ John Steinbeck (1902-1968)

“If you choose not to find joy in the snow,
you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow.“
~Anonymous

“February…snowy, brilliant, but dripping with the sound of spring wherever the sun lies warm, and calling with the heart of spring yonder where the crows are assembling. There is spring in the talk of the chickadees outside my window, and in the cheerful bluster of a red squirrel in the hickory.“
~ Dallas Lore Sharp

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.“
~ Confucius