Friday, August 19, 2011

Birthday Tears

They are supposed to be happy days.  Joyous days.  Full of fun and family and cake.

And mine usually are.

I also have had birthdays filled with bittersweet tears.  Like this year.

Somehow, it seems that monumental days for my children happen to fall on my birthday.  In 2005, it was the day that my only son entered the Missionary Training Center to begin his two-year mission for Jesus Christ.  It was a day filled with pride, and joy, and heart-wrenching sorrow.  Try as I might, I could not smile through the tears.
This year was a similar experience.  On my birthday, my youngest daughter flew to Florida, checked into the Disney College Program in Walt Disney World, where she will live and work for the next five months. It was a day filled with pride, excitement, and anticipation.

And it was another tearful good-bye.  Another attempt to be brave while having my heart torn out.
I think, overall, I did pretty well holding it together.  Well, except for that one time.



It's my party and I'll cry if I want to......

4 comments:

neffie said...

And it's ok to cry! :-)

I remember my mom taking Derek to the MTC she cried on our way there, cried when she took him, and cried when we left.

I'll look for the movie schedule at the Elsinore and we'll all go again to watch the old movies, and maybe that will help make the months go by fast. :-)

If you need to, you can cry some more - we won't judge you.

Other than that, I hope you had a great birthday!

Ardith Haws said...

Ah, thank you, Stephanie!

Laura said...

Ditto! It's okay to cry! After the goodbyes, I hope your birthday was amazing. :-)

Outside the Pumpkin Shell said...

Those are good reasons to cry on your birthday. Let the tears flow. Your children know you love them. Your tears are a gift to them.