Embracing the Day!

Some say it is just a number.......Others say it is a dreaded milestone. I embraced it as another wonderful birthday in my life with many more to come.

This birthday started out quiet with both of the kids working at the local pool. I spent the time they were gone by pampering myself with things I wanted to do...... Later the family gathered for an outdoor steak and lobster dinner with flowers, candlelight and homemade margaritas!

I took a few minutes during this special day to remember the birthdays of my childhood. Of course, with it being on the 4th of July, they have always been full of activities. In my younger days in Wheaton, Illinois, I remember going to the local parade in the morning that seemed to go on for miles with waving flags, floats, bands, and screaming fire engines. Everyone was dressed in red, white and blue with smiles and laughter. After the parade, we would have a barbeque at home before heading out to the drum and bugle corp competition and the fireworks.

In my later years, I loved being at one of the beaches in Florida with the Gillinghams. We would set up umbrellas, drag the chairs down, and just relax with a good book and great conversation. The kids would be linked in a flotilla of innertubes traveling on the ocean waves up and down the beach all day. After a cookout and drinks on the beach, we would laugh as the boys would set off store-bought fireworks over the water. I remember seeing for miles in both directions, families doing the same thing in their own little world. It was a beautiful site......

My favorite birthday memory though, was when I was around 5 years old. The family loaded into Dad's huge car and drove to Champaign, Illinois. We stopped at the Pancake House for dinner where I got free pancakes because it was my birthday. Then we stomped into the University of Illinois Stadium with thousands of other people to wait for the fireworks to start. After the ROTC presented the flag and the national anthem was played, the entire stadium would go pitch dark. Slowly and then more quickly, the stadium would be dotted with twinkling lights. I remember my dad bending over and saying, "Look honey at all the people I invited to your birthday party!" Then with the big booms of the fireworks, I would bury myself into his lap and peek up as each one made flowers in the sky.........