Thirty-three and counting.

Sometime in the past week I celebrated a birthday, although I say celebrate with a slight degree of hesitation. All in all, it was a wee bit of special interspersed with a whole lot of normal. But what would one expect from a 33rd birthday? So let's talk about the special:

1. Waking up to my husband making whole-wheat waffles for breakfast.
2. A constantly swept floor, thanks to a thoughtful mother-in-law.
3. Several offers to make birthday cake, denied by me, due to a junk-food overkill on our vacation. Heck, had I let someone bake me a cake, I might have requested broccoli as a main ingredient.

And that was pretty much it. My kids barely joined in for a perfunctory rendition of the Happy Birthday song. Perhaps they were confused by the absence of cake and candles. And presents.

The most laughable part? When we finally retired to bed, Tim rolled over to tell me that, in case he had forgotten to mention it that day, I had "X" amount of dollars to spend on new clothes. Charming, I tell you.

Let's just say that if gifts and fanfare are what you're looking for in a birthday, don't come home from a long trip the day before. You'll only be disappointed. Thankfully, gifts and fanfare are lost on me, which is why I can joke about the lack thereof on my 33rd birthday. I married a great man who is everything I need and I have four beautiful daughters who inspire me to be the best I can be. I went to bed feeling overwhelmed and humbled by the multitude of blessings in my life.

P.S. Even though I don't "need" people to do thoughtful things for me on my birthday, I enjoyed every last birthday wish that was sent my way. I guess facebook is good for something - thanks guys!