April 3, 2012 B FOR BIRTHDAYS What people don't understand about birthdays and what no one ever tells us when we're eleven years old, is that we are also ten, nine, eight, seven and even down as young as two or one year old. We carried all those years along with us and they brought us to this, our eleventh year, They are a part of our very essence and will never go completely away. They remain with us always. Some days we might say something stupid and that's part of us that's still ten. Maybe some days we still need to call our mothers for help because we're frightened or need an answer to something we don't understand. We may even need to be cradled in her arms and have her wipe away our tears. We will still need to be soothed by her tender touch on our bowed head. That's the part off us that's still five years old. And perhaps some day when we're all grown up, we will cry like we did when we were three years old. We may be so sad and frustrated that we don't know where to turn. And that's okay too because that's the part of us that is still three. Indeed, we carry every age within. When we are 50 or 60 or 70 years old, some where, some place deep within our souls those qualities so much a part of us when we were only toddlers or teens or young adults remain with us still. We will still feel the need to laugh and cry like a three year old, rejoice and celebrate like a six year old, We can never forget to touch all these spaces deep inside ourselves that are still so much a part of who we are. I hope we can sing Happy Birthday with gusto and joy. Birthdays are very special days on this journey of life and we need to honor them. We need to reflect, reminisce and celebrate a whole birth week or birth month. Certainly a day is not enough for the miracle of who and what we are and what we yet to become.