Birthday Bliss

There is simply nothing quite like the morning of ones birthday. It's the essential motivation; forcing us to think about where and why we are, and how we feel we are doing. I read an interesting editorial recently about "happy moments", and while I've thought about compiling a list of my own before, I know if I don't document them when they are still fresh some of the feeling fades (though I still plan to write past moments with as much detail as I can remember). The idea of being able to read and revisit some of your happiest times is really, to me, the resolution to that introspective birthday feeling we all get...

There is nothing on earth like waking up to this (on my brithday!):

I'm lying in bed sleepy and dreamy, and while I don't know what time it is, the sunshine filtering through the shades says it's morning. I'm suddenly aware that my baby is nuzzled next to me - feeding. I don't know how long she's been latched on for, or when I un-swaddled her, but she looks wide awake and content. I look down at her, smiling directly into her deep blue eyes. She looks up, gazes for a moment, and returns my love with a big toothless, milk-drunk grin. As she smiles, my nipple falls from her mouth, and milk dribbles out her mouth down the side of her cheek and onto the bed. It is instantly one of my favorite moments ever. When I look over at the bed next to me, I see my husband, sound asleep, and next to him a little pair of feet peeking out of light pink pajamas. I lift my head and see my 3 year old daughter, snuggled in tightly next to the love of my life. At that moment, I am the happiest and most content girl alive.

So! Here's to birthdays - causing us to take account of our lives, and thanking God for the goodness in them!!