My birthday

Being away from your family is pretty tough. Being away on special days- birthdays, anniversaries, mother's/father's day, etc. is even tougher. That being said, I was not at all looking forward to my birthday. I kind of wanted to skip it. But even ignoring days doesn't eliminate their existence.

So the night before my birthday I just decided not to make a deal of it or feel sorry for myself. I decided to approach it as any other day. I think this really helped me get through the day. No expectations = no let downs. (I'm pretty big on celebrating things if you didn't know, so this was a big step for me). And you know what? Yesterday turned out to be rather pleasant. It didn't "feel" like my birthday, but honestly, it hasn't felt that way in a long time. Just not the same as when you're a kid. The weather was beautiful so during our break, the girls and I picked up some lunch and ate in the park- it was nice, relaxing and enjoyable. I may not have the boys, but I'm blessed to be with my girls. After we finished for the day, we headed to our friends' place for dinner and they even surprised me with a cake and sang happy birthday! Maggie enjoyed hanging out with her little friend and I enjoyed the company.

Overall it was a really great birthday. Still miss my boys and wish they could be here in person- or me there- but the day was as wonderful as it could be in their absence. I meant to take a picture of me and the girls, but didn't. :( I did take a few of the girls though: