Happy Tuesday, friends! I'm sorry I missed you yesterday and Itty Bitty Lovelies.

I'm still recovering from a full weekend. We relished in soccer games and family fun as well as celebrating my oldest daughter's First Communion. It was both a small and a large happening.

I was the lucky one who got to sit next to my daugther during the Mass as she fidgeted with nervousness and smiled small smiles of reassurance to her inquisitive, overbearing mama.

I had expected her to grin from ear-to-ear, like she'd been doing the last week as she talked about how grown-up she'd been feeling with this sacred rite ahead of her. But instead my first baby, my now mature 8-year old, was very deliberate, specifically focused, and, one might even say, intense.

At times during the Mass I tried to get her to giggle to lighten her mood, and she shushed me to quiet.

I looked down at those long eyelashes and blushing red cheeks, and I remembered that sometimes falling in love is serious. And the most sacred moments of our lives sometimes come with a clarity and beauty that makes joy seem obsolete.

I feel particularly blessed to witness this lifelong love story of faith.

Sharing these words of wisdom that have been particularly comforting to me as of late.

xoxo, MJ

 

On my 25th birthday, I was really struck by the mark of my life hitting a quarter of a century. That significance sat in my soul for the breadth of the day, and a certain reverence for life swept over me. At that time I was living on my own, dating my wonderful now-hubby, and settled into my professional life. I spent the entirety of the day by myself, immersed in writing. I sat on my apartment 3' x 4' deck with a glass of wine and a stack of cards and hand wrote messages to the many important people in my life, thanking them for their friendship and their significance in my life. It was a different kind of birthday, but it felt just right.

My 30th birthday fell on Mother's Day. It was my very first Mother's Day as a mom. I was overwhelmed with the wonder of motherhood, and I was blessed to soak it all in with my momma and 6-month old, M. Becoming a mother put a whole new spin on birth-day, and I was so grateful to my mother for the labor and the process she experienced in bringing me into the world.

In our world of digital communications and electronic reminders, we're able to contact people on their special days in quick, simple ways. On another birthday, I decided to write a post on every one of my Facebook friend's walls, thanking them for their contributions to my life well-lived. Gratefully, my connections numbered only 200-something, and I had something of meaning to share with each person, so the effort seemed natural and worthwhile.

I'm a person inclined to sentimentality and marking the sacred moments in life, and around this time of year, I spend significant time replaying the hard days and the cushioned steps that have brought me where I am today. 

And I am grateful. I am grateful...

because birthdays are like Thanksgiving, minus the cranberry sauce.

 

this from here.

So, what's planned for today? Well, M tells me that there's a surprise in store. I think this will involve a blindfold and a trip to my favorite restaurant, but I can't yet be completely sure. I love how the little ones get so excited about these journeys.

Me, at 3.

For my part, I'll be spending some time in a Sacred space, thanking my Creator for the fullness and depth this year has brought to me, in the darkness and through the light. And I'll be offering my simple words of praise and thanksgiving.

Thanks for stopping over and sharing in my little piece of Heaven. It's been wonderful to share this birthday with you.

XOXO,

MJ

PS. The top image will be a part of a Tea/Coffee Party hosted on Friday over at Laid Off Mom. I'm sharing my story on these happy mugs.