HBD 34

People usually say that as they grow older, birthdays and celebrations have less meaning. That’s not the case for me. I woke up with my son’s greeting “Happy Birthday Mommy!” and I was excited to spend my day than ever. Yes I’m now 34 years old, I feel like it, but I don’t look like it (thanks to sunscreen, retinol, collagen, and glutathione lol). But admittedly I’m proud to say I’m more emotionally, mentally, and wow financially mature than previous years.

Taking Birthdays for Granted

I always took birthdays for granted. When I was younger, I never had those grand parties. I had simple ones with my immediate family. During high school, college, and first years of work. The only celebrations I had were the compulsory greetings or the pizza party with my colleagues. I always dreamed of having surprise parties (which I never had but that’s okay) or superficial celebrations. When FB came along, I always thought of replying to each and every greeting a nuisance. That I just wait until the end of the day to write a generic “THANK YOU FOR THE GREETINGS” message for everyone who posted on my wall. I mean, why should I? They just greeted me because FB reminded them it’s my birthday.

But today’s different. My goal is to reply to each and every greeting that comes along (while avoiding being muted lol)

The Value of Life

I mean, sure FB reminded them it’s my birthday, but they still made an effort to type in the words, the greetings, the gesture, even if they’re as short as HBD

The pandemic realized how important life is, and how grateful I am to be still waking up today this morning and celebrate another year ALIVE. Not to sound morbid or dark or anything but, our newsfeed is filled with death and condolences that it’s beginning to look like an obituary. Each night I worry about my friends and family, that I keep praying to God to protect them from the virus and keep them alive.

Gratitude

Five years ago I was in a toxic relationship with no money and no direction. Ten years ago, I was on the verge of depression because of a failed and broken marriage. Twenty years ago, I was kicked out of high school for failing grades (and talking back to a teacher). 

Today, as of writing. I’m taking medication for my Bipolar-1 disorder and get a regular checkup with my psychologist, I love my job, I love what I’m doing, I’m thankful for having a loving and healthy relationship, I’m grateful for having a son who’s growing up to be kind and good-hearted, I’m thankful for my family, I’m grateful for the friends I have, and a lot lot more. I’m thankful for being alive and experiencing all of these today. I pray that things will only get better in the future.

Things will and do get better. Sometimes life teaches us lessons to learn (duh) and make better choices in the future. I’m still a work in progress and always will, but now I have a direction on where I want to be and who I want to be with.

Oh, and if you read this until the end, THANK YOU 🙂