The 50th Anniversary Of My Birth Day

August 18, 2011 is the 50th anniversary of my birth day. I will be 50 years old. Wow! You hear of golden anniversaries and of 50th birthdays, but I choose to celebrate it as the 50th anniversary of my birth day. It is a great time to reflect, reminisce, and review where I have been and the things I have done. It is the beginning of a new phase of my life. It is the beginning of my future and the culmination of my past. To celebrate it I have but one request. I want to be with those persons who love me, the persons for whom I have spent my life as I have. Those who define me as who I am today. To be with them, I am complete, therefore, my day is complete when they are all near. It will not be completely possible this year, as one son is serving our country overseas, but it will be precious to have all the others with me. It will be no less sweet to have them. I will have my parents, my spouse, my children and my grandchildren all with me on that day. I am so blessed!

I'm celebrating 50 years of being born today,

I haven't planned a thing, my dear, I'll spend it any way.

My only wish to have all near with smiles upon their face,

I know that things are busy, dear and you might have to race.

It's hard to get the children's lives and timing down and set,

but having all together is the best gift I could get.

Tho' one is far across the sea and can't be here with me,

I'll hold on tight to each one here and able to be free.

My daughter with her babies dear, my parents spoiling me,

My youngest son, an adult now, tho' baby he'll still be.

My husband takes the breakfast shift,

giving the day a starting lift.

My parents fill the mid day shift with shopping and iced tea,

Granddaughters fill the afternoon with tales from school for me.

My son and daughter come together in laughter and in play,

It is a wonderful time of celebration of the time and of the day

When 50 years ago a birth occurred upon this very day!

I wrote this planning to publish it shortly after midnight so it would appear on my birthday. Now reflecting on what today has held I want to say again that nothing on this earth is more important than those loved ones being so near. My daughter's home caught fire today, August 17, 2011, around noon. All are safe. If it had happened during the night, according to the firemen, they would not have survived. Now when we gather around the table and they sing "Happy Birthday" to me, I will be overwhelmed with thankfulness that those sweet voices are there today to sing. Nothing else matters. Nothing.

Photo and Text Copyright 2011 Deborah M. Carey