3 posts tagged “birthday”

February 17th has always been a special day in my family. It was my Dad's birthday. He would have been 63 this year, and I always like to remember him even more on his birthday than on any other day - which incidentally is kinda hard, because I think of him a lot on a daily basis. I think of how lucky I am that he was there to see me graduate from high school, and how lucky I am that he was there to see me graduate from college and how proud he was that I was applying to grad school. I know that he was smiling down on me last April when I finally did get my Master's degree. And most of all I think of how lucky I am to not only have had a father for as long as I did, but to have had a father who loved me so much and who was so proud of me. There were certainly hard times, no relationship is perfect, especially not one between an overprotective father and his stubborn daughter (who had *his* temper and stubborn streak) and there were definitely days when we were better off pretending the other person didn't exist for awhile. But he was a wonderful father and I'm grateful for all the wonderful times we had together and all the love and support he gave me. He challenged me to be better person, and he demanded nothing but the utmost respect not only for him, but for myself as well. He was hard on me for my own benefit, and for that, I'll always be grateful.

So today I'd like to honor his memory, and remember him for the man he was, flaws and all. I know that wherever he is, he's in a much better place and he's most definitely watching out for me. Along with my grandfather and all the other members of my family who have moved on from this life. Thanks for all the lectures, all the lessons, and most of all, for making me sit down to dinner with you and Mommy every night. I hated it then, especially when none of my friends had to do it, but I'm *so* grateful now that I had that time with you. Thanks for putting up with my pathetic parcheesi and checkers skills, and for letting me beat you every once in awhile. Thanks for pushing me to do better than my best and for never letting me settle for anything less than I deserved. Most of all, thanks for being there for me and loving me even when I didn't deserve it.

Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you and I miss you, always. Love, Your Little Girl

So all I wanted for my birthday this year was to have a good one. To spend it with my family - which I did last weekend - and spend it with my friends - which I did this weekend - was just wonderful. It made me realize just how blessed I am. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better birthday week/weekend. Nice flowers,

an outing to the driving range and sushi buffet on Friday (the actual day), an awesome sashimi dinner (with sake-tinis!)
and drinks at a hoppin' bar on Saturday. And to cap it all off, the Penn State - Notre Dame Game on Sunday, dvr-ed in Hi Def for my viewing pleasure. My bad planning had us out to dinner while the game was going on, so none of us got to see it. And although I knew the outcome - We Are!.... Penn State!!! - I still wanted to watch the game. Not exactly the most well-played game I've ever seen, pretty ugly to be honest, but still a great game to watch nonetheless. So I want to say thank you to my family, my wonderful friends - especially Autumn for her planning and most especially my best friend who drove down from PA for the night and left this morning to make it home in time for work - and Mark's dvr for making my birthday weekend fantastic, and a weekend I will surely never forget.

Ahh yes, the milestone quarter century. I'm actually pretty excited about it - but then again, I'm not one of those people with an age complex. I completely embrace my age, and deal with it as just a number. You're as young as you feel... and I feel like an overgrown 12 year old. :)

So anyway, my family came through for me in a BIG way. When I was growing up, we usually celebrated my birthday over Labor Day weekend - usually on Labor Day, since everyone was off and was able to come to my parents' house for dinner and cake. We also celebrated on Labor because the year I was born, Labor Day fell very late, and my mother went into labor with me on Labor Day. It sounds cheeky, but its the absolute truth.

So anyway, the actual day isn't until Friday, but we utilized the holiday weekend to have an awesome picnic at my grandmother's house. At first, I thought it was going to be a small affair, but then it just kept growing until I realized that ALL of my family members were going to be able to make it. It was awesome! We had enough food for an army, and there were 5 munchkins there - running me ragged and being entirely too cute for their own good. :D I had wanted to have a giant bash for my 25th - since it is kind of a big deal, at least to me anyway - but it didn't seem like it was going to work with my friends or my family. And then all of a sudden, BANG! it just worked out. I haven't had a real birthday party in a very long time, and its been a few years since I've even had a cake, so I was definitely very appreciative.

Its so nice to be so close to my family again. A three hour drive feels like nothing in comparison to the 8 and a half it would take me from Michigan. Call me a dork, but I absolutely love spending time with my family, and I've got the perfect balance right now - my own life in a city that I love, but also the benefits of a wonderful family just around the corner ;) I especially love getting to spend time with my grandmother. Its so easy to take your family for granted, but I try very hard not to. I'm very lucky :)