Russ just had his 83rd birthday. Birthdays are important for some of us and not so much for others. I am in the not so much category. I rather enjoy UNbirthdays and unexpected connections. Russ had already been diagnosed with Parkinson's when he turned 79 and I worried what the future would bring. I decided to do the BIG 80th gathering while he could still thoroughly enjoy it. We had a painting party and it was a blast! Birthdays are about connection and that obviously can come in many packages. A neighbor family had planned to take Russ out to dinner, but I was in a bit of a black hole at the time and canceled the outing. This did not deter them; they wanted to celebrate Russ and made the joyful connection. It definitely made our hearts happy. There was a knock at the door and then little voices shouting "Happy Birthday Russ! Happy Birthday Russ!" Shoes off and in they come, Mr Dinosaur puppet presenting two wonderful birthday cards. There were cupcakes and flowers and Happy Birthday singing. Definitely a joyful connection. In our world of social media, Facebook makes it really easy to 'notice and acknowledge someone's birthday'. Email is a tad more intentional, but again sending those B-day wishes takes three seconds or less. It is so much easier than a phone call or a card. In three seconds or less, the job is done and one can move on with their day. But this wonderful family took time to care and make Russ' birthday include a joyful connection. Since I was less than stellar cowering in my black hole, they took on being the example: "do unto others as you would have others do unto you". It was wonderful and appreciated and special!.
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