Today marks another spin around the sun for me. You would think after as many as I have had this would be old hat, but I still feel something at the sight of my birthday. Nostalgia, longing, a sense of hope maybe? Surely some sense of loss at the years that have passed. Birthdays are just another day, until you stop and think about all that they encompass.

This year I got the unintentional gift of spending an entire day with my sons and extended family at an amusement park, getting sunburnt and riding rides. The day was meant to celebrate my oldest turning 21, however, by bringing the family together and getting my boys in one spot, they unintentionally gave me an early gift for my own birthday. The joy of having close birthdays.

That brings me to the actual day. Sunday, my birthday. Where I sit alone in my home. My children are off, the day forgotten from their minds. My friends are all busy with their families, again this just another Sunday for them. It brings sadness to me. I am one to always remember birthdays and celebratory moments. But it feels like mine are forgotten. I should be numb to it by now, and on most days I am. But birthdays just hit different. Today, I would like a coffee or even a text. Nothing big. No boat show. Just the acknowledgement that we too notice you.

Oh well, the musings of a middle aged woman. Here’s to life, may we all live it fully.