It's March 5, 2013 and today is my birthday.
Birthdays are a sensitive subject to a lot of people and, at times, they have been for me. Not lately though. A few years back I was discussing the topic of age and aging with a friend and I said to him that I was feeling like an old lady. He replied in musician-speak (the act of quoting songs to illustrate a point). He said "not old, just older". "Just Older" is the title of a Bon Jovi song and the nutshell version is that you need to be comfortable in your own skin. Be comfortable, choose happiness. As I've said so many times before, it's all in how you look at it. There is something very special about each and every age, and each and every stage. In youth you lack wisdom and experience but what you do have is the absolute time of your life just learning about life. Those experiences, that learning, will ultimately give you wisdom. Wisdom thru pain, wisdom through joy. Pause..... take time to reflect on that, I know you're doing it anyway. I'll wait......
As you get older you may give up some aspects of your youth but you've hopefully gained the wisdom through experience that will allow you to more fully enjoy moments in time, or to cherish people and experiences in ways you may have overlooked in youth.
I'm not old, just older. I think I have reached a point in my life where I get it. I have a keen sense of what's important. Family and friends are important. I don't sweat the small stuff and I'm comfortable in knowing that I'm not smarter than a fifth grader! I have the best parents a girl could ask for and a brother that I absolutely adore.
I have a supportive husband and the most beautiful children in the world. I'm blessed and I thank God every day for the people in my life. I may not have chosen my family but I wouldn't trade them for the world.
Friends. Friends are my chosen family. Friends are the people that you have in your life by choice and I have some of the best.
I have some friends that I may only get a chance to talk to a few times a year but when I do we pick up where we left off.
I have other friends that I see every day-- my gym buddies, my cooking cohorts, my party pals-- I love them dearly and they hold special places in my heart. They have my back and I have theirs. There is nothing I wouldn' t do for them and I know they feel the same. They are support when I need it and they are the sources of full-on belly laughter. They are real and I love them.
It's March 5, 2013 and today is my birthday. Today my family treated me like a queen. Today my friends made it known how important I am to them. My heart is warm and I feel so special. Honestly I don't know what to say. Thank you doesn't seem to be enough but it's all I can muster. Thank you, thank you all so very, very much.
+Michelle Morrissette Cucchiaro
+My Baked Stuffed Life
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