Birthday Time!!

A quick addendum to my previous post entitled "Poop": the little pooper was indeed a squirrel.  He was caught early the next morning before I arrived at work.  He wasn't in the trap though.  He was nested up in the trash can by my desk... terrified.  He was released and I've not seen him since.

Moving on...

So at Delanco Camp (the place I was at last weekend) the kids are not allowed to have their cell phones at all.  If they bring them, they have to turn them in to the staff for the weekend.  So I was with my kids, getting them signed in and registered when a 20 year old staffer came right up to me and said, "look into my eyes..."  I was like, um, this chick is a total creeper.  So I'm looking at her and she says, "do you have your cell phone?  Be honest."  At first I was confused and wondering why she needed my phone... like, do you not have one and need to make a call, or what?  Then it dawned on me that she thought I was a camper and wanted me to give up my phone for the weekend.  I very politely, but in an obviously amused voice said, "I'm on staff."  She of course was mortified, put her face in her hands and turned around.  I couldn't help but giggle with my kids about this after she had gone.  They like to remind me just how old I am all the time.

Her mistake basically made my day.  I know I look a bit younger than I actually am, but it's been a while since someone has mistaken me for being THAT young.  The oldest I could have been even if I was a camper is 18.  I'll take it.  A few years ago I went to see a movie with a friend... I got carded, he didn't.  It was amazing!  So apparently I look about 10 years younger than I actually am.  That, or people are terrible at guessing ages.  I'll stick with the former.  :)

So it actually made me start thinking about the fact that I'm turning the big 3-0 in just a couple of months.  Those of you who've known me for any length of time know that my birthday has always been my favorite day of the year.  I love being with my friends and family to celebrate and I ALWAYS make a huge deal out of it... mostly for fun, but partially because of the timing of it.  I can't remember a specific time when I felt like my birthday was ignored because it's 5 days after Christmas and a day before New Years Eve, but it's always been less celebrated than other people's.  So I've always made sure people don't forget.  

This year I don't have a desire to make a big deal out of it.  What?!  Are you kidding me?!  Shocking, right?  This isn't because I'm turning 30, (because obviously I don't look it, so whatevs) but more because I've been humbled.  Last week I noticed that facebook was telling me that it was someone's birthday when I've always known their birthday to be in December (although they are unaware of when their actual real b-day is).  This person is an African friend of mine, so I sent a message asking for clarification.  They clarified that though that's when we had been celebrating it all these years, they had decided that they like a specific date last week and just changed their birthday to then.  I wasn't super surprised by this choice, but it's still a strange thing to think about being unsure of when you were born.

I have MANY other African friends who are in similar situations.  They're not sure of an exact date and in some cases they're not even sure of the year.  Can you imagine not knowing how old you are?  I mean, does it really matter?  What difference does a year or two or even 5 make?  This has been on my mind quite often for the past week and a half or so.  I feel very blessed and privileged to have grown up the way that I did and in this country.  It's just so interesting to actually think about the things that we (I) hold dear, that we (I) deem as important.  I've never had a birthday without cake of some sort.  I don't think I've ever had a birthday without being sung to.  What would it be like to have never celebrated a birthday before... simply because it's not important?  It's just another day to work, hopefully eat, live, love.

Some of you may be thinking, "that's no big deal, I don't really celebrate my birthday anyway."  Do you go out to dinner?  Does someone cook you something special?  Do you get a card in the mail or hundreds of fb b-day wishes?  I'm willing to bet that your birthday is celebrated somehow.  You may not be like me and make sure you take the day off of work (I've never once worked on my b-day), but I'm sure it's at least recognized, if not celebrated.

Maybe it doesn't strike you at all and you're thinking that I'm over-thinking this.  Whatever the case may be... I'm excited to turn 30 and I feel blessed to know that it'll be celebrated whether I decide to make a huge thing of it or not.  I'm thankful for the knowledge I've been given and the family I'm a part of.  I'm thankful for my African friends and family who help keep me grounded, though they are unaware that they are doing so.  I'm also thankful that those dear ones accept me and love me even if I am accustomed to silly things like birthdays being so important.  I'm feeling overwhelmingly loved and blessed tonight and I'm grateful to God.  All good things are from God, who is good.