Today is my 28th birthday, and even though it’s supposed to be my day of receiving gifts, I’m going to give a birthday thought to you. And this comes with the help of my friend Sari.
Sari is a beautiful girl, petite and blonde with stunning features. Lucky for us, her outer beauty is matched by her inner, as she is a wonderful person to talk to and is humble and sweet.
During Shabbat dinner at Merav’s Friday night, I sat next to Sari and I asked her how she was.
“Depressed!” she said.
“How come?” I asked.
“I’m turning 38 next week.”
Obviously, I asked her what day her birthday was (it was the 22nd), and told her that I was turning 28. She said she felt like that she was getting old and that things was passing her by.
I told her the story of the kid at the Coffee Bean, and I said at the end of my schpiel: “So you’re 38. You’re alive, aren’t you? Instead of saying, ‘Oh no, I’m 38,’ you should say, ‘Wow, I’m 38!’”
Most people probably wouldn’t agree with that sentiment – and speaking frankly, I probably won’t feel that way when I turn 30 in two years. Particularly with women, growing older is something to fear. But I don’t fear it. In fact, sometimes I’m surprised I am growing older.
When I was saying what I said above to her, two images flashed through my head. One was of me in a hospital bed. The truth was that the odds were stacked against me at the age of 21. After having five blood clots, three of which were pulmonary embolisms, I could have easily spent my last days at Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks. Instead, I lived on. I graduated from college, got married and found a wonderful (broke) life.
Then I saw an image in my head of J laughing. If you have read this blog, you know all about J and how he succumbed to drug addiction (if you are a new reader, the article is here). J died at 22. There was so much he hadn’t experienced yet, because every year we get on this earth is another opportunity to do things that we haven’t done yet.
We really do have so much life to live. As much as I am sad that I don’t have a job and horrible things happened to me in my 27th year, I’m thankful that I have woken up every morning to a husband that loves me, a family that has been supportive and wonderful friends who have tried to do everything to help us in our time of need. We may not have everything and we may struggle, but I am absolutely grateful for what we do have. And I am looking forward to my 28th year of life -- one hopefully filled with more laughter, more love, and definitely some more money and prosperity!
Since it is my birthday, none of my recipes will be posted today. However, I will be linking to a recipe that I do like. My friend Christina had the most amazing vegetarian lumpia at her surprise birthday party, and she posted the recipe on her blog, Pinoy Vey! Here is the link: http://www.pinoyvey.com/lumpia-filipino-egg-rolls-with-sukang-or-swee
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