The Big Two-Oh

Okay let's be honest for a second...there is really nothing extremely special about a 20th birthday. It's kind of like being in limbo. You've already been 18, and able to buy cigarettes and lottery tickets (big whoop), and you're not quite 21 yet and able to drink. You're just...20. The same rules still apply. But I guess there is one plus: hey, you're not a "teen" anymore! Seriously, no big surprise that my 20th birthday wasn't the best birthday of my life. But it was a great day and I am lucky to have shared it with the people I was able to share it with.

There is something that always seems to happen on birthdays though, at least for me, and that doesn't matter whether it's your 15th birthday or your 20th. You always seem to find out who REALLY cares and who doesn't. Birthdays can be so telling for relationships. My birthday really surprised me, actually. I woke up to the best chocolate chip birthday pancakes from the most special man in my life...and even though they were extremely chocolatey, they were delicious and the fact that he made them for me meant the world to me. He took good care of me ALL day yesterday, and I hope he knows that every little thing he did for me did not go unnoticed. Then I got homemade birthday cards from each one of my little cousins, and they were just the cutest cards I have ever seen in my life and brought the biggest smiles to my face. My best friend brought me unexpected gifts that meant so much to me, and spent the whole day making me smile. Even when I got my hair done, the best friend and the boyfriend were right there with me. My family ordered me a Batman cake for my birthday, and put "Natman" on it...something simple like that just lets me know I am heard and cared about. My daddy got me the sweetest cards (not card!) and some yummy candy. And the people who showed up just to spend a couple hours with me on my birthday made my heart smile so huge. And to all the people who took two minutes out of their day just to write on my wall or text me to say, Happy Birthday!, made me feel so special. You will never know how much something so simple means to me. Thank you.

I don't think your birthday should be about how old you're turning, and what that is going to mean for you legally or socially. I don't think your birthday should be about going out and getting crazy or stacking up gifts against your bedroom wall. I think your birthday should be about spending time with the ones you love and who love you back, and if they can put a smile on your face and you theirs, that is the most beautiful gift in the world.

Thanking the Lord for letting me live to see another year.