Birthday Shenanigans

Tomorrow is my birthday and after spending most of year 20 battling cancer, I would like to say that my view on birthdays has drastically changed.

I used to dread birthdays because that just meant that I was growing another year older to having to get a real job and start a real life.

Another cancer patient once told me, "I don't know why people get all crazy about birthdays because the only alternative is not having one... And we don't want that!"

Birthdays have always seemed to be about the number; about how old you're turning. This year I am turning 21, so I am not saying that this birthday isn't about the number because this is a milestone birthday, but there is so much more than that.

I don't worry about the years anymore. If there is anything that I have learned from my cancer battle, it's that life really is short. People say that all the time, and I used to be the one that commented back with the smart-alec remark of, "Well it's technically the longest thing you'll ever experience..."

After experiencing something that could have very well taken my life, I am just happy to be here. Happy to have friends and family that I love and that love me. Happy to have a fulfilling college experience. Just plain happy to alive and well.

I have learned that our relationship with tomorrow drives our emotions and actions today. As I go into tomorrow another year older, I am thankful, excited, and hopeful for many more birthdays. Having traveled the cancer patient path of uncertainty about how many more birthday I would get to celebrate, I have a feeling that each one will become more meaningful.

 I also will always carry the fear that my cancer may come back and once again I will be challenged with how many birthdays I have ahead of me. But that could be a whole other blog.

I am just truly blessed to have been given the chance to live another year.

So what am I doing for my birthday tomorrow?

Celebrating life.
Celebrating healthiness.
Celebrating this new year that the Lord has blessed me with.

The more birthdays I have, the more time I have to enjoy my friends and family and to do the things that have meaning for myself and others.

Every year is a step forward away from the year I was fighting for my life.