Birthdays-Every year is a gift



Birthdays-Every year is a gift

Yesterday was my birthday and it started with tears of gratitude. I woke up to a wonderful husband wishing me a happy birthday and two four-legged children that are happy every morning. And I realized not only do I have more than I want but I have so much more than I need. The only plan for the day was to get a haircut and work in the morning. I was off work for the afternoon. I also had an overwhelming urge to see my mother.
Intellectually, I have known for some time that relationships are the most important things in my life. But the message finally traveled from my head to my heart. My world is filled with as many facets as the lives I am honored to play even a minor role in. My best friend’s daughter sent a text thanking me for being her “second mom.” I heard from my niece and nephews and my step-daughter. I got cards and calls from so many people that I love. I read every Facebook message I received. The messages came from so many parts of my life-all of the different schools, training, jobs, fellowship, activities. I am humbled at how rich my life is.
My mother is 91 and I was so grateful to spend a few hours with her, where it all began! I try to take every opportunity to thank her for being my mom. I want her to know how lucky I feel. She is an amazing woman and I can’t believe I have had the privilege to spend so many years with her. She told me that she wants someone to explain infinity to her. She said she can’t really believe it exists until someone explains it. I hope my mind stays that active.
Both of my brothers called. Not only am I the youngest, I am the only girl. I won the child order lottery. I didn’t just get two big brothers; I got amazing brothers. And even though I have no sister, I have women in my life that are just like sisters without the fights! I talked to Amy, my sister-in-law, who is like a sister. I got to spend some time with my best friend too. And the layers there go on and on. Her daughter and husband are very dear to me, as are her father and her mother-in-law.
I can’t imaging my life without these people, but I have lost people who I couldn’t imagine losing. I still can’t believe that Michael, my first husband, died at age 46. His life force was so huge that it is still boggling that it could go away. When I think about Don, Kristin, and my friend, Kim, who recently lost Joe, the love of her life, I can’t fathom EVER dreading a birthday.
If I wrote about all of the people in my life that are so important, I would be writing forever. I am not a mathematician and I can’t recite the formulas or explanations for infinity, but the love I feel for and from those in my life is the best demonstration of infinity that I know.

Comments

  1. radwinzackeryMarch 5, 2022 at 4:05 AM

    SEGA CD-R 2-Merkat - Home - TITanium-Art
    SEGA CD-R 2-Merkat titanium cookware (Titus Merkat), MEGA CD-R 2-Merkat, Game, Music, aftershokz titanium Reviews. titanium wheels Rating: 4.3 · ‎5 reviews · blue titanium cerakote ‎$7.99 · ford focus titanium hatchback ‎In stock

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Celebration and Grief-Layers of Emotion

Image
Celebration and Grief In 1992, I completed a medical toxicology fellowship. One of the faculty at my residency training program was a mentor who was a toxicologist, so I decided I wanted to do the same. I loved the idea of being good at a specific subject and I thought knowing about snakes, spiders, poisonous plants and mushrooms would just be very cool. I had no idea about the relationships I would form. I also had no idea that most of the patients would be overdoses and not as cool as I expected! But I have no regrets. It is a wonderful specialty. Last week we had our annual meeting in Washington, DC and celebrated the 25th anniversary of the founding of the physician toxicology organization, the American College of Medical Toxicology. As a founding member and past president, I volunteered to emcee the gala dinner. I think it was the most difficult presentation of my life. I have been in front of hundreds of people and have spoken in multiple countries, but these are the hero
Read more

Soul Dog-Where I see God

Image
My connection with animals is very special and sometimes, I think, pathological. I have come home a different way to avoid a dead animal in the road. I can’t watch nature shows because I can’t see animals die without crying. Don’t get me wrong- I have nothing against hunting and I GET nature.  I just can’t watch the killing. Animals have been a huge part of my life since I was a child. My parents were both professionals, but I was fortunate to grow up on 116 acres in southern Indiana, where we swam in a pond, had a huge garden, had horses that we rode, and raised cattle. We always had dogs-one for each child. And we also had cats. We tried to have ducks, but my German Shepherd, Puella, ate most of them. My brothers are 6 and 7 years older so my dogs and cats were my playmates. I dressed my dog in human clothes and had tea parties with her. Despite the fact that we had many of the same experiences as my rural neighbors, we really never did fit in.  No one else named their cows after
Read more