Birthday Wishes

Yes, today is my birthday. It is, as mentioned in an earlier post, my "16th annual 29th birthday." Not very happy about that part of the deal, but not much I can do about it either. I mean, age is just a number, you're as young as you feel, all that jazz, right? But there is a part of a birthday that's still pretty cool ... you know, all the warm birthday wishes from your family and friends.

This morning when I woke up, and I came out of my sleepy, not yet caffeinated morning stupor and realized "oh yeah, it's my birthday," I don't know why, but a specific picture from my childhood came to mind. It's from my second birthday party and I'm at my childhood home, being held by my mother, and surrounded by many family members that I love. As children, yes, we enjoy the presence of our loved ones, of course. However, in just being kids, we often focused on the fun, the presents and best of all, the cake! But as we mature, we realize that the more important part of a birthday is celebrating YOU and what makes you special to your family and friends, and more importantly enjoying all the warm wishes they extend.

At my age, a birthday is just like any other day. I don't have parties to commemorate it, but I still love hearing from my family and friends just the same. In today's times, that means phone calls, emails, text messages, and facebook posts. With this mind, today, I celebrated my birthday in style! I am truly overwhelmed by the number of messages I received to wish me a Happy Birthday! I feel so blessed and honored to have such amazing family and friends. Thank you all for the wonderful birthday wishes. It really means so much!

I plan to end the evening with my family just chilling out at home. Not particularly exciting, but really, I can't think of a better way to end the day. Just as in my second birthday party photo -- surrounded by those I love.

Thanks everyone for making my birthday so special. Have a great weekend, and a Happy Valentine's Day! -- S

"Celebrating a birthday reminds us of the goodness of life, and in this spirit we really need to celebrate people’s' birthdays every day, by showing gratitude, kindness, forgiveness, gentleness, and affection. These are ways of saying: “It’s good that you are alive; it’s good that you are walking with me on this earth. Let’'s be glad and rejoice. This is the day God has made for us to be, and to be together." -- Henri J.M. Nouwen



This is me at my second birthday party, at home in Houston. My mom was holding me, and I'm surrounded by my brother David, cousins Vanessa, Claudia, Mario and Clarissa, my grandmother and my Aunt Margaret. -- Feb1967


Celebrating my birthday this year with my peeps! This is a Brogdon family photo, taken at another birthday celebration this past August. Photo courtesy of my friend and fellow photographer, Tammy Reed.