Blowing Out The Candles To Welcome Another Year

Last Friday, I turned 37 years old. 

Birthdays, for me, are what they are--

We've tacked on another year, we have the 'monkey song' (as my Bestie calls it!) sang to us, we receive a present or two and we blow out the candles on our cake. One day that is all about us! Ta-da!

But this year, my birthday held a different meaning for me... it meant I had another year to keep living. Another year to be a Mom, a wife, a sister, a friend and a citizen.  This birthday, I was reminded of how lucky I am to have another year and of how fast all that can change.

I will remember March of 2014 as the year that two women I have known since grade school, died from cancer. (One of them being laid to rest on my actual birthday.)  Both women were YOUNGER than I.  It hardly seems fair at all.

Years and years ago, I might have only heard of their deaths through the grapevine, or I might have read their obituaries in the newspaper.  I haven't seen either of these women since high school, but through platforms like Facebook, I have been able to know what they have been up to, watched them build families and careers, and I've witnessed their tremendous courage and passion for life.  They inspired all those who knew them to never take life for granted.  Ever. And to be thankful for each and every day we are given.

Life is the most precious gift.