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Old 07-14-2015, 04:49 PM   #1
Hear2day
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 5
Smile What Birthday? How do you celebrate it?

How does one get through their significant birthday (60 for me) just after first few chemos, losing hair, emergency hospitalization, neutropina diet & thrush? Newly diagnosed Her2+ invasive, stageII... Truthfully, I am tired of listing & researching my alphabet soup cancer for myself. Tired of me,mi,mi, from the opera "La Boheme". At least for now. How about you- Anyone have special day stories & how they managed to celebrate or create something different?

You probably know someone like me. I'm the Kool Aide mom who loves celebrating everyone's birthday/ special days by doing something big or finding & fulfilling a secret wish. I acquired a door from a small plane, wrapped it, created a treasure hunt to find eventually the gift of a flight in a WWII plane for a husband who dreamed of flying a plane. The certificate was signed by "Captain Kirk" Miller. Close enough to Star Trek! He was thrilled & the kids enjoyed the riddles to find next clue. It was a gift, within a gift & wrapped with love & a few great memories. And that was months before the actual plane flight. Oh, and the price of this trip, an Air Force veteran receives the funds & a portion (20% if memory serves) goes to Veterans in need! Another gift extended to others! I love spending months hunting down & giving perfect small gifts & watching their eyes grow big & smiles go wide. Loved tracking down my son-in-law's favorite baseball player. Then tracking down where he would be holding signing events. Then getting the certificate of authenticity. And there were more adventures for that gift. But I think you can see the point. To me, that is my greatest joy. When I take someone on a special trip, I love watching their faces. I don't need to see what's on the stage. What I see in their glowing faces is so much more wonderful. Each card given takes hours just to make or find just the right one to fit the day, use the right words, & make that person feel so special. No little detail escapes me. When anything is given with love & joy, it is sure to please & create great memories. And isn't that the whole point of celebrating! Love!

When my mother passed away when I was 21, I never celebrated my birthday again. I felt the reason for my birthday left too soon & without my mom, my birthday was just a date I put down on forms. Nothing special. I would on my birthdate, on occasion, buy gifts to surprise a few people who needed a cheer up. It was a good use for the day. But I thought this year, maybe, my 60th would be a good year to celebrate a little. Well, plans changed completely. No one can plan because chemo is unpredictable for me. And who knew toxins can be so, well, toxic!
So what to do with someone who is not materialistic. I love creating events & memories. But my dear daughter & poor husband are lost. They would rather buy me something, anything. They showed me Internet items & store circulars trying to see what I like. I don't need jewelry on my fingers. I'd rather count my blessings on them or count those few remaining relatives I have. Clothes are nice, but when you are on chemo & other meds, sizes go up & down. And I really don't need fancy clothes to rough house with my big sweet 150 pound dog. Gently of course. Spas are nice but can't risk infections and I'd rather spend time using my hands to support a friend or help my family.
I guess I must be the most difficult person in the world to give a gift.

Truly, this 60th birthday, I would be thrilled to give my birthday date away to someone who doesn't have one. Throw a charity flash mob for The Carol Baldwin Breast Center, her2support.org, or Breastcancer.org. These are just a few of the worthy charities I would love to help. Just celebrate being alive that day in this world by making as many people as I can, smile on that day. Maybe break a record on passing on smiles! I'm no celebrity, & I am just a mom. Not rich, famous or infamous. But I can dream big about creating smiles at least, right?

But wouldn't it be a wonderful way to spend a birthday? Making people smile! Now that would be a really happy birthday!

Hope everyone who has a special day celebrate it & smile! Pass it on!
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