Birthdays

My younger daughter turned 13 today. Besides officially having two teenaged daughters, I was reminded of how quickly time passes. Just last week, I was pregnant and two days ago she was taking her first steps. How did she get to be 13 so quickly? Beyond that, when did she get so beautiful and wise? She is a delight to be around, with the exception of the day before her birthday. Then she is an annoying person who reminds us that she will no longer do whatever she is doing when she is this age. Maybe though, she is on to something that the rest of us need to learn.

Many of us regret the number the declares our age. It is one year closer to the inevitable end. It is one more year that we have allowed to slip by. It is one more year gone forever. We have all sorts of ideas what an age means. Forty is the beginning of middle age. Fifty is half a century! Sixty is a time to think of retirement. To what can a person look forward? But the truth is we never know when the inevitable end will occur. We don't know what the next few hours hold, how can we know what the next few decades will bring. Nothing is certain so why do we have expectations about the future. Instead, we should be celebrating the here and now.

This is what my daughter does every year on the eve of her birthday. Uncertain of what the future might bring, she rejoices in the day. She celebrates the passing of another year by acknowledging that she will no longer be the age she is. By announcing that it is the last time she will be woken up or eat dinner or brush her teeth when she is twelve, she embraces where she is. For the a time, there is no inevitable end, no expectations, no ideas of what tomorrow might be. For her, there is the here and now and it is wonderful.

So tonight as I sing her Happy Birthday, joining my voice with those of my family, I will rejoice in the here and now and revel in celebrating a special young lady.