The Best Birthday Gift Ever . . .
Recently, I celebrated a birthday. Because ‘My Day’ is very close to Christmas, I usually begin the countdown for my family the day after Christmas. For those born close to the Christmas holiday, you know what’s it like . . your day is an afterthought. Everyone has partied, over eaten and over spent, so if you don’t remind them about your special day, it might be overlooked. But, for some reason, this year I didn’t do that. So what’s up?
Could it be that old age was settling in? Or that I was getting too close to a milestone year and I was in denial? Could it be that my 30th high school reunion is coming up this summer and I realized that I hadn’t truly fulfilled all of those dreams that I had at 18, or at 21, 25 and maybe even at 30? The answer was yes to all the above or so I thought.
My family asked me what I wanted for ‘My Day’ and usually I have a long list of items that I would love to have for my garden, books I want to read, CD’s that needed to be downloaded to my Ipod,etc. And, of course, they had no idea of what to purchase for me.
So I would usually get a lovely birthday card that included a gift card. But, this year I didn’t want them to go and buy me a gift because like every other American family, ours too has been affected by today’s market and we are all counting our pennies. This is why I was not doing my famous countdown to ‘My Day.’ Then the question came, ‘Aunt (the only name that my nephew and niece call me) what do you want for your Day’?
I had the answer, “Write down on a piece of paper what you like most about me.” You should have seen the looks I got when I told them this. Yes, they thought I was way out there . . . again.
When ‘My Day’ came and I read what each of them wrote, I realized that I had reached the goals that I had set for myself at 18, 21, 25, 30 and even when I hit my next big milestone birthday. I was so into what I hadn’t done, that I didn’t realize what I had done. I was told that I had made a difference in the lives of my nephew and nieces.
So, when you are looking for the perfect birthday gift, take the time to tell that person what you like most about them. Believe me, that will make them smile all day. And the best part is that this is gift they can pull out of the file whenever they need a smile.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post Kathi! You should read Linda Sacha’s book – Queen for a Day – Reclaiming your happiness one birthday at a time. It speaks to this point as well. And, just so you know…you’ve made a big difference in my life too:-) Happy Belated Birthday, friend!
Loved reading this story and I may keep it as something to ask for on my birthday one year.
Thanks for sharing,
Christy