Happy Birthday

Tomorrow, or if we are to get technical, in two hours, My baby girl will turn five.  Her due date was February 28th. She was born on March 5th. You could possibly imagine how uncomfortable I was. She was my seventh child. On a pretty regular basis I had to say things like, "She'll be here by May" (said with a smile- OK maybe it was a grimace) just so I didn't panic about her being overdue. When you're more than a week overdue every day feels like eternity. As I look back on her birth, the blessings I received are so apparent.  I was in the hospital for eleven minutes before she was born. That may not seem like a blessing to you, but it was for me. I wanted a birth with as little intervention as possible. I got it. I labored slow enough at home that we weren't sure she would be born on March 5th, but my contractions sped up for a little while and then slowed down again. That meant that my Mom and one of my best friends could be present for her birthday party. And man, what a party we had! I brought my four oldest children to see their baby sister be born. She was healthy, and we were all happy and in awe of that timeless, amazing process.

We still are. Happy, I mean. In so many ways happiness comes down to the basics like health. It also is about recognizing the good things. I know, I know, we all watched that Oprah 10 years or so ago about gratitude journals, but really, good principles never go out of style. Gratitude is a good principle.

Tonight my heart is full of gratitude for each of my sweet children, not just our baby. I have a lot of blessings: my marriage to a man I'm so in love with, my home that I waited seventeen years to buy, a house full of laughter,  good friends that offer supportive shoulders to cry on and listening ears and fun, a God that loves me and helps me feel that love everyday, a really good mind that I can expand and grow. And so, so, many more things.  On this day to celebrate my baby's birth and hopefully on many other days, I can see these things SO clearly. I hope you, too, are blessed with this kind of clarity, the kind that produces smiles and an increase of love for all those around you.

Happy Birthday.