We're Not Dead Yet

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes for Coach. I'll have to remember to pass those along when I see him next. Which, by my calculations, should be sometime Sunday morning. Maybe. If I can catch him before the silly Redskins play.

I am a big believer in birthdays. In making birthdays as big and as memorable as possible. Not the definition of big that includes spending lots of money, as that is only a choice not a mandatory thing; but the definition of big that means doing everything you can to create a sensation of great joy and excitement.

I believe that ALL birthdays should be celebrated, not just the ones leading up to age 29. I absolutely do NOT subscribe to the theory that life ends at 30. Life is as enjoyable as you CHOOSE to make it. So why not choose to live each year believing it will be more spectacular than the year before it? Why limit yourself to only enjoying your first 30 years on this Earth? I absolutely believe that we should enjoy ALL of our years on this Earth. And celebrate the journey through them all.

I believe that it doesn't matter if you're a parent, your birthday is just as important as your child's, and as such a big deal should still be made of it. We didn't stop being our own people when we had children. The birth of those miracles did not bring about the death of our own life celebrations. Why should your children grow up believing that they will have to stop celebrating life when they reach a certain age, or achieve certain milestones?

I firmly believe that the more people you have offering you Happy Birthday wishes, the more you will enjoy the day. Think about it for a minute. Don't you smile, from your heart right out your twinkling eyeballs, every time someone tells you they hope you have a great birthday? Every time someone takes that one minute to focus just on YOU, don't you feel important?

I believe that you should get to be selfish on your birthday. You want cake and ice cream for breakfast? Fantastic! You want to have control of the remote control and watch nothing but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for hours? Awesome! You want to share these activities with the people closest to you? Spectacular! Just let me grab a bowl, a spoon and a pillow, and point me to the 2nd best spot on the couch. Because you get the best spot. That's a given. It's your birthday.

I believe that if you want shrimp and mushrooms for your birthday dinner, that's what everyone else gets to eat as well. Well, everyone in your immediate family. I suppose it's impractical to call your grandmother who lives three states away and expect her to eat what you're eating. But, for the house you live in and the people you live with....it's the Birthday Dinner, and that's the Birthday Rule.

So yes. I believe in making each birthday the most amazing and wonderful one ever experienced. That's why Coach got a hot breakfast, that didn't come out of a toaster and require frosting or syrup, before he went to work. It's what I've tried so hard to teach my boys. I think it might be sinking in, too. Bug made a card at home before practice last night, and then he made sure all the players on the team, and many of the parents as well, signed it for Coach. It's also why, when we had fajitas last night for dinner, none of us picked out ANY of the peppers or onions, even though Coach is the only one who likes those. Birthday dinner. Birthday rule.

Coach turned 36 yesterday. I'll be 36 in March. We're having more fun with life now than we could ever have imagined having at 29. So why not celebrate that? In the biggest way we can?