Thursday, February 23, 2012

Day 260 ~ Birthdays... My Favorite Days!

All my life I have loved birthdays!!  Be it mine, a family member's or even friends and acquaintances... I love celebrating birthdays!!  I'm really good at remembering birthdays... wink, wink.

Your birthday is your special day.  The one day a year that you should be allowed to do anything you like, or not.  The one day that you are queen for a day or princess, or you are treated like a king or one in training if that's the case.  You definitely should be able to have your favorite dishes for your meals, all in moderation of course.  All in all you should be able to do what you want (in moderation) and have your special day!

What I love to do as my special gift, is bake my family member or friend their favorite cake or dessert, from scratch of course.  I am merely motivated by the fact that it is their special day, that and I love watching them enjoy their birthday cake.  Big smile.

From Tres Leches to Cheese CakeRed Velvet Cake, Triple Chocolate Cake and more!

At home, you will get your favorite meals all day long!  BIG SMILE!!  Along with red-carpet treatment!

As I've mentioned before, for some reason I am in the dog house with my youngest son.  (I have no clue whatsoever why I am not being spoken too... BIG SAD FACE! and Living more than 1,700 miles away from my sons doesn't help our situation any, either.)  Today was his twenty-first birthday.   I would have LOVED to have made him his favorite foods, cake, and giving him his special day!      

Today as heart wrenching as it was, I did have some insight and a new perspective at looking at life.  The quote... If someone wants to be a part of your life, they'll make an effort to do so.... hits too close to home!  And when you think about it and the person that doesn't want you in their life is your child... one word... O U C H ! ! ! !  

However, I also read a wonderful post today... and what great timing too!  The Mom Journal's post was so inspirational!  I discovered through her post that I have been behaving like a carrot lately and I need to be coffee beans!  I'm sure you are thinking I am crazy right about now, but if you can take a few minutes, five at most, and read her post.  It'll be the best five minutes ever.

I know I have to toughen up... it's been a tough journey doing so... and I know there is always room for improvement!  But seriously... when faced with adversity, there are times that I just buckle!  I weaken... and my sons are one of those times.  This is where I behave like a carrot... place it in boiling water and twenty minutes later you have soft carrots.

It's just been such a  fragile relationship with both my sons, always wanting to do the right thing.. questioning myself constantly, worried constantly on what is going on... not only has it been exhausting, but it has been a long row to hoe!  

All I have ever wanted and want, was and is the best for my sons, so much so that I have made what turned out to be bad decisions for all of us... BUT THAT IS ALL IN THE PAST!!  And what does that mean?  I can not do anything about it... However... I can do the best I can from here on out!

I'm going to start growing some beans and behave like coffee!  Yup!  After twenty minutes in boiling water... you get strong coffee!!  wink, wink.

Basically the moral of the story is that given the same bad situation, what matters is how you handle yourself in the face of adversity.  You can "soften" up or you can make "strong coffee"!  

In honor of mothers everywhere...
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:   ~  Proverbs 31:28  (NIV) 
Blessings to all!!
105 days to go...

PS... for a, l & c.  You are my sunshine(s).  Happy Birthday Logan... I love you so much! 

Some images courtesy of google images.  Others are marked accordingly, and are property of Carla Barila Karam and Taking Back Life ~ Making It My Own, this blog.   All U.S Copyright laws apply.   ©

5 comments:

Ang said...

I'm so honored that you mentioned my post in your blog today! I love that illustration as well, so I just had to share it!
I am praying for your relationship with your son--my oldest is 14 and sometimes I think about how much he loved me just a few short years ago and wonder what I've done wrong in the past few years to deserve the evil looks and comments I get from him now. Then I realize, it's not me--it's just that time in his life. As hard as it's been, I've had to take a step back a bit and let him experience a bit of failure while I feel like I am watching helplessly from behind a glass window. The best I can do is pray for him and show him I still love him and have faith in him no matter what. NOT easy, though. I hope and pray you have a great weekend and that things will get better! Here's to a cup of strong coffee!
Ang
PS I put this link up on my blog as well!

Karen Dawkins said...

Happy birthday to Logan. Our daughter is adopted. Her birthday is filled with joy and a twinge of pain. Her "other mom" isn't there. She doesn't know the beautiful girl who is now ours. We wonder if her heart grieves on Ellie's birthday. No doubt it does. It's my prayer that her other mom will somehow know that Ellie is okay -- better than okay, she is happy, confident, filled with spunk and energy and joy. She loves and laughs with all she's got. I pray you will know the same about your son -- that he is content and happy, whether you're together or not.

And why not make a cake? Celebrate the day you gave birth. Pray for Logan and blow out the candles. Whether he's with you or not, he is always part of your heart.

Be blessed!

Suzy said...

I agree with Karen, bake that cake, light the candles. No matter what he does, the love in your heart for him will live on forever. When we connect with others with our heart at the soul level, they cannot help but connect back to us even though physically it may seem like they aren't.
Happy Birthday to Logan. And love and hugs to you. God Bless.

Anne @ Green Eggs and Moms said...

I've read the carrot and coffee analogy before and I agree that's it will be the best 5 minutes you've spent reading. Thanks for the reminder. Oh yeah, I'll let you know when my birthday is in the hopes you'll bake me a cake... haha :)

Kenya G. Johnson said...

Awwww. My heart hurts for you. I never want to know what that feels like. You are in good brewing spirits. Stay strong!