Birthdays can be a big challenge. Ron’s Birthday was last week, and it really hit me hard. I thought of his big party we had to celebrate his 70th. We lived very close to a place where we could make our own wine, so months before the party we started creating our wine so it was ready to bottle on his birthday. We invited everyone to come help us and our granddaughter’s jazz trio entertained us while we ate cake, then we all walked to our house for a fabulous Greek dinner. What great time we had!
My birthday was a week before he died. He was in the hospital and I had been staying with him to help with his care around the clock. On the day of my birthday, he insisted that I go home to shower and had Shena pick me up because I was too tired to drive. Instead of taking me to the hospital, she took me to my favorite restaurant where all our friends were waiting for a birthday party for me. He and Shena had been planned it for me before he ended up in the hospital. It was beautiful, but I just wanted to be back with him.
His birthday this time made me remember about how we always made our birthdays special for each other, a time to celebrate our lives and our love. Soon it will be my 70th, and I keep thinking how much I wish we could celebrate it together. And I think we will. I will have cake and flowers and a glass of wine like we would have shared, and I will revel in the sweet memories of our special times together while I also realize how far I have come. I am in a good place now, and I know he wanted that for me.
Love lasts forever, and birthdays are a regular time to reflect and be grateful for all we shared.
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