birthday month

it's my birthday month. and as anyone who has a december birthday knows, WE ALL GET JIPPED. if december is good for anything, it is good for people talking about how busy they are. (and if you know me at all, you know how much i love to listen to that.) people are usually too busy to celebrate or remember your birthday, and yada yada yada ... but on the up side, if we were born the same month as Jesus we are all obviously  pretty important to God. so at least there's that.

my beloved friend texted me to remind me it is birthday month this morning, and i said yeah, i am trying to lower my expectations ... but i don't want to. not just for birthdays. in general. i have high expectations for myself, life, and others. i can't seem to shake them.

her two cents: i think it's something you're born with and you can't trick yourself into thinking another way. this confirmed what i thought, and perhaps sometimes that's all we want: someone to agree with the way we feel. but i still wonder, is it possible to lower our expectations? and more importantly, HOW?

i love step-by-step instructions and shortcuts, and being a wife and a mom has been a difficult "adjustment" for me because there are no cut and dry rules, and there are no shortcuts. tonight lance reminded me for the umpteenth time that it's okay to not be like everyone else - it's a good thing.

i physically breathe a sigh of relief every time i hear this reminder from him or anyone else, because somehow i forget. i get caught up in wondering why certain things don't come as easily to me as they seem to for others, and why i don't feel the way others say they do about certain things, and on and on. i've always been different and yet i still feel surprised when my experiences are different. embrace it. i need to embrace it.

oh, and if you know someone with a december birthday some good ways to celebrate them are: cards, chai, flowers, baked goods of any sort, books, babysitting, spa days, anything from anthropologie/lululemon/banana republic/magnolia homes/restoration hardware/fresh vintage by amy ... just ask them and they'll tell you, but i'm PRETTY SURE this list is one size fits all.