Happy Birthday to Me :)

I have pretty much always enjoyed my birthday. I am not one of those people who dread getting older, although I really cannot believe that I am now 38. I definitely don't feel like I am *this* close to 40. I am in shock. AND we had our 20th high school class reunion this past weekend as well, so now I feel doubly old, but that's okay because things just get better with age, right???? It's definitely harder now to get excited for my birthday since my Dad passed away just days before (Sept. 25 and my bday is Sept. 27). Sometimes I just feel like we should forget it and just let the day pass unnoticed, or just celebrate at a different time when the mood isn't so somber. That is not going to happen and I just need to face reality. First of all, my mom will not let the day go by without celebrating even in a very low key way, but I guess it is important to her. I can understand because I cannot imagine NOT celebrating my boys birthdays regardless of life events. And my boys enjoy it--they don't care about my gifts of course. As excited as I get for gift certificates or my new Keurig coffeemaker (Thanks Mom again, by the way), they just don't get it. What, no motorcycles? No toys? No bike??? Well, Mom, that's not a birthday??? So, what do they get excited about? Why, the cake of course! Well, rather blowing out the candles and eating the icing is more like it. I remember one year my cousins Laura and Debbie had to light the candles on their cake probably 10 times just so Troy and Anaka could blow out the candles over and over and over.....But really, they REALLY get excited to help decorate the cake and I think they may have a future. Move over Cake Boss....