today is my birthday...i am 28 years old and for once, my age is becoming hard to believe. for so many years of my life, i lived in a way that was older than my age and in many ways, i guess i still am. but for the first time, I'm finding it hard to believe that I'm actually this old! i can only imagine what 30 is going to feel like!!
i have to say though, i feel so blessed. many people like to measure their life's successes by very materialistic things, money in the bank, cars in the driveway, careers and travels and various other possessions. for me though, my successes wake me up every morning, they tell me thousands of times a day how much they love me, they hug me and rub my back, they brush my hair, they make me laugh...my successes make me angry in ways i never knew, they make me cry just by looking in their cute little faces, they scare me in ways that spiders never could, they have given me life's greatest promotion...from Shannon, to Mommy!
i may have had the same job for 9 years, taken a step forward and then stepped back again...i may drive a car that is 7 years old, but its paid off...i have surrendered to a mini van, something i swore i would NEVER do, but it gets my precious cargo where it needs to be safely...i may live in a house thats been in our family for nearly 30 years, but its full of love and memories.
so much of my life may have turned out differently than i would have planned, but i have someone very important to thank for that...God! He has created more wealth in my life than any human ever could have. I am eternally grateful for the ways He has taken over my life, changed my course of direction and taught me to slow down. life is such a precious gift and my past 28 years have shown me so much. i have loved and i have lost, i have been angry and i have forgiven, but even more importantly i have been forgiven! i wasnt always the person i am today, i havent always turned to God in the good and the bad, but when i look back i know in my heart that He was always working in me. I am who i am today because of who i was back then and although i know there are things i wish i could have changed, i live with no regrets. I hold my chin high, proud of the woman, the mother, the wife, the daughter, the sister and friend that i am today. love me or leave me, take me as i am and know that i will give back to you in the ways that you have given to me! i am grateful, i am blessed.
so today i celebrate my 28th year, watching my husband - my best friend - splash around in the kiddie pool with our beautiful little boys, with my baby girl on my lap. i soak in the sun and plant their smiles and laughter in my memory forever. i enjoy a wonderful meal at Mangia with my husband, our daughter and our wonderful neighbors. i will pick our boys up from VBS and listen to their hearts explode with love for Jesus on our way home. and to make the day even better, when i get home i will enjoy cake and cookies with my beautiful family of 6 and our God-sent neighbors and their beautiful twins daughters.
i may never be a billionaire, but i know in my heart i am one of the richest women in the world and i couldnt ask for more!
5 comments:
Such a good blog post. and something i have been focusing a lot on myself. Since high school, a song called the "lumber song" has been a part of me. And i'd have to agree, to all the people that told me i'd get tired of just being known as 'Rory's Mom,' they were wrong. My heart swells with pride each time i hear that...of all the things i am, that is the best gift i have ever been given! I found this quote the other day and i thought of it while i was reading your post....
"It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy." ~George Horace Lorimer
Glad you had a fabulous day! :)
An oldie but still one of my very favorites....
"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove, but the world may be different because you were important in the life of a child!"
What a great mommy you are!
Love always,
Mamarita
Shan, You may be younger than me but I look up to you and you inspire me. I love that you are so true to yourself. I am so lucky to be one of your lifelong best friends!
thanks you everyone for the wonderful compliments!! its always refreshing to hear from others that you are actually doing something right in life, because sometimes its hard to see through your own eyes!!
Post a Comment