You say its your birthday. . .

I have officially entered middle age. The other day I celebrated the big 4-0! When my sister-in-law turned 40 she and her close friends hired a band, and had a huge bash. What a great idea I thought. Turning 40 is BIG, you need to celebrate. She quickly reminded me that Mr. Nomad and I really aren't the "hire a band" kind of people. Good point. She suggested a trip. Mr. Nomad and I love to travel. Oh yeah, she was on to something. So the last couple of years Mr. Nomad and I have been looking forward to turning 40. We planned to take a BIG trip and celebrate in style.
Fast forward to August 2009. With my big birthday quickly approaching, I told Mr. Nomad, "I hate to ruin the celebration, but after being a vagabond for the past 4 1/2 months, the LAST thing I want to do is go stay in a hotel somewhere!" (That, and the fact that we just bought a house--and nearly a house full of furniture to go in it.)
So just how did I celebrate the big day. Very simply. It was actually much like any other day in my life. At first glance you could think, how sad to not have a big celebration for such a special birthday. (Well, when you are new to an area it is a bit hard to rustle up a huge party of friends to fawn over you. It comes across as a bit egocentric.) I can't say I wasn't initially a bit let down. Then as I began to ponder my day, God was able to open my eyes to my blessings.

You see, like many other days Mr. Nomad and the kiddos sent me off on a walk while they made me a big pancake breakfast. There were cards from each of them telling me how much they love me, and how glad they are I'm in their life. . .not so out of the ordinary. We are very open about telling each other how much we care. Birthday flowers decorated my table, again not so out of the ordinary. Mr. Nomad knows how much I love the fresh flowers you can get at the Olympia Farmer's Market. So when we find ourselves in the area during flower season, he always stops by and picks me up a beautiful bouquet. Throughout the day, the phone rang with calls from family and good friends, again not out of the ordinary. God has richly blessed me with family and a group of friends so devoted and kind, that I would trust any one of them with raising my children. Yes, my big day wasn't very different than any other day in my life. My 40th birthday was pretty ordinary, but how incredibly blessed that my ordinary life is filled with such love and devotion.