29 and doin' just fine....

(...today is my birthday)



birthday crown handmade by my lovely, crafty enchelleada



today is my day of birth. and i love birthdays. i know that sounds self-centered, but i don't like them for the reason you think (trust me, having a birthday three days after a month of thanksgiving, christmas and new years is not the most optimal bday window).

have you ever witnessed a birthday? i mean, the actual day a baby has been born into the world? well, i haven't first hand, but i can't even imagine what that is like. over the past few years i've watched a few friends go from dating, to married, to pregnant, to moms. and i tell you what, nothing is as big a change as having a child. and what makes it even more real, at least for me, is actually knowing my friends: seeing them as girls my age that i identify with and then, wham! in less than a day, they are mothers. mothers! they've created and given birth to a human being. and they are girls. my age. that i know! that astounds me.

also, babies in general astound me. they are like mini people, essentially... but not really at all: they have needs and wants and can't talk about them or do them for themselves. which doesn't sound that different, but if you ever have relied on someone else for your basic needs for just one day (i remember last year, this time, not being able to walk), you'll undestand how amazing it is that these lil humans cannot do for themselves and yet still survive. having and taking care of a puppy that cannot talk (i know, disappointing, no talking puppies) has also given me just a glimpse of what it would be like to take care of a living thing that cannot voice it's own needs or desires.

brithdays are awesome for these reasons, plus more- cake, presents, a song everyone knows the words to... birthdays are one of the few universal things that we, as humans, all celebrate. that's so rare! birthdays, smiles, death: universal things that unite us all together. i hope you get to take time to celebrate YOU on your birthday, and get to enjoy it as much as i enjoyed mine :)

xoxo.