Why My Birthday Was Special

This summer started with me feeling the best I ever had in my life. I was running 6 or 7 miles a day and had so much energy and felt I could conquer the world. I thought that 32 was the best age in the world. I was woman and you could hear me roar (okay, I'm getting a little carried away). Then, one of my knees started to bug me, and I ended up at the doctor's office with X-rays and an MRI and the doctor looking sympathetically at me and saying, "I'm pretty surprised to see you have arthritis. Very uncommon in someone your age." And then, he shrugged his shoulders, told me to come back in 8-10 weeks if my pain was too bad, and left the office.

I can't say the news was devastating or earth-shattering, and I knew I should be thankful for all the scary diagnosises (I know you say "diagnosees," but I don't know how to spell it and that's how I talk anyway) I hadn't gotten, but it still was...discouraging...like I had to redefine a lot of who I was, and I started to worry about what it meant or what I wouldn't be able to do in the future. I suddenly felt very, very old.

So the prospect of my birthday was not very exciting, just a reminder of the aging of my body. I went to High School Sunday School where Jeremy surprised me by putting me in the "Hot Seat" (a tradition we have in youth group when it is someone's birthday--people can ask them any question they want, but they have to give a compliment first). Usually the students struggle to think of lame compliments so they can ask really random questions like "Would you rather have a shovel for an arm or an elephant's foot?" I had gotten to spend a lot of time with the high schoolers this summer and felt like we knew each other pretty well, so I was curious as to what my Hot Seat would be like.

One student said, "You pay attention to what we like and ask us about those things. I like that." Another said, "I like when you sing when you and Jeremy lead worship." And many of them said, "I don't have a question, I just have a compliment." I felt so known by them...and to feel that way with teenagers is quite a compliment in itself. It made me realize the great things I had gotten to be a part of with them this summer, and how much prouder I am of that than if I can run 7 miles. It was a good morning.

My actual birthday day, Jeremy, Annie, Evan and I went downtown to a little hole-in-the-wall place called MartAnne's that I've been wanting to go to. It was really good and the kids were really well-behaved...and that's really all a mom can ask for! After brunch, we walked around and I bought a new purse that fit the specific requirements of the purse I wanted for our trip to Europe...thin enough to be stuffed into my suitcase but pick-pocket proof. We'll see how it holds up!




Later, we dropped the kids off at a friend's and went for a motorcycle ride. Jeremy got me (drum roll)...a helmet for my birthday. (Yes, it's a little like when Homer Simpson gets Marge a bowling ball with his name on it for her birthday..."but I don't even like bowling"...you get it). But, we actually had a great time. I looked at the beauty around us and kept thinking, "This is where I live!" (old Campus Crusaders might know what I am referencing).

We stopped at Mormon Lake Lodge for Diet Dr. Pepper and Iced Tea (really fruit punch disguised as iced tea, isn't it?) and had one of those peaceful husband and wife talks where you just talk...about the future and things you're thinking, and neither person has an agenda or gets all stressed out about the implications of what the other person is saying (what? I never do that!).




In the evening, the Chiefs were playing the Chargers (those are Football teams, for my dear Flagstaff friends), and since we don't have cable and only know 1.5 NFL fans in this town, we invited ourselves over to some friends' house to watch the game. There was a little birthday cake for me...but the Chargers lost. And we totally overstayed our welcome. Oh well.


The rest of the week was busy with MOPS and life, but I had asked some friends to go country dancing and the old place we used to go to in college. It was fun, low-pressure, free dance lessons at 7 pm on a Thursday, so it was us and the old couples who had just eaten dinner at 4:30 at Sizzler. But their knees were probably better than mine. Okay, anyway, we had so much fun and MOST of us said we wanted to go to the free lessons every week. They did a competition where they made everyone get with a new partner and do the steps that we learned and they chose a winner. Now, in our family, it is known that I am the best dancer, and I secretly wanted to win (Jeremy and I were each with another partner because they split us up, and he was with an old lady and I was with one of the better younger guys and I was even wearing a cowgirl hat, so I was sure we would place in the top 3). Anyway, another couple won the $5 prize (this is serious stuff, guys, keep reading) and then my partner said, "Well, I'm sure we were 2nd" and then right after that, the main teacher came up to Jeremy and I and said, "I thought YOU should have won, I voted for you!" and I stood up straight and smiled big and then he thumped JEREMY! on the shoulder and I realized he was talking about him!!! *Sigh*






So, in the end, despite not winning the dance contest, I felt appreciated, I had fun, and I enjoyed my 33rd birthday in Flagstaff with the people God has in our life, achy knees and all. And, in the middle of the week, I spoke at our MOPS group, where I shared our theme verse..."Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." I needed to hear it.