Birthdays

I woke up bright and early today because my phone kept buzzing - all of my "friends" wishing me a Happy Birthday on Facebook...

So, now, the Happy Birthday song is on continuous loop in my brain; however, I think it would be tacky to post that as my status for the day.

Birthdays, once you hit a certain age, just aren't that big of a deal. I remember being young and thinking, "Just wait til I'm 13, or 16, or 18, or 21"... but what happens after that? We think "Oh no! I'm a year closer to 30, or 40, or 50!"

Celebrating the day you are born should be exactly that, a celebration! A festival of you. Or you could think in the spirit of Scrooged or It's a Wonderful Life: What would life be like without you in it? I can think of a few people close to me who I know wouldn't be the same, not to mention the 1200(8*150) students (so far) whose lives wouldn't have been touched by me... that's a sobering thought. Don't get me wrong - I don't have an ego the size of the state of Texas, or Rhode Island for that matter. I simply think we should appreciate ourselves for who we are and what we do. I'm pretty awesome! Although, sometimes I'm pretty bitchy, and others I'm pretty sad. I'm loyal to my friends and family, and dedicated to the children I serve. I try to always have a smile on my face. I try not to speak ill of others. I do my best at everything I do.

Birthdays also lead me to self-reflection - kind of like New Year's with resolutions and all. I like to think about what's going well, and what I'd like to change. Since last year's birthday, I've shed 25 pounds. I'd still like to shed 25 more. My house is coming together, but there's lots more to do. I feel like I'm getting better at what I do - refining the craft of teaching takes up a lot of my spare time. I know I'm becoming a better mother (it is a trial and error field of life). I'd like to spend more time writing, but setting aside all that time to be "great" seems like a daunting task.

This past school year I took my AP students to hear Junot Diaz speak. He gave some interesting advice for people who want to write. "Write!" he exclaimed. "Write as much as the guy who wants to play in the NBA plays basketball." When I think about that it's a little daunting (especially when my mind goes to the stories I've read about Tiger Woods - he reportedly hit 500 golf balls before school every morning and then went back every afternoon and hit until his hands bled)... so I'm starting smaller - dedicating 15 minutes a day to writing should, if nothing else, increase the amount of things I've written.

Happy Birthday to me! May this one be better than the last.