It’s my birthday and I'm celebrating, as Elaine Stritch famously sang, because I’m still here. 

I’ve always loved birthdays, so why should I stop celebrating them now? Aging shouldn’t change how we see ourselves, and as women why should it? We've earned every wrinkle from a life well-lived, and our beauty certainly lies within. Maybe that’s why I never understood people who insist on hiding their age. What’s the point? Is it better to face the alternative? Exactly. 

Birthdays are special and important because life is so delicious and quite precious. It all goes by too quickly so carpe diem! Seize the day.

Remember when birthday parties were at home? (1967)

My chronic illnesses won’t stop me from feeling this way. To paraphrase my husband, I still have a childlike innocence about me, and for that I am thankful.

So today I celebrate and am grateful for so much:

• My “circle of people” who surround me, the ones who love me and I love back, unconditionally. 
• The victories I’m able to accomplish each day, both big and small.
• I pray our country will repair and rebuild itself back to the core values of decency and honor that our Founding Fathers insisted on and fought so hard for.
• The dedication of countless men and women worldwide who search for better therapies, medicines, and cures that will be accessible to everyone, for all diseases.
• I’m grateful for the growing number of choices of better therapies and medicines to lessen the severity of my battles, helping me to function as best as possible. 
• I celebrate the community of health advocates I now call my friends for their courage and bravery despite unthinkable adversities. They advocate for their communities despite personal challenges. I’m in awe of them. 
• I’m beyond blessed to have a loving and supportive husband and son who take care of me without question. They cheer me on during good days and bad. I could never live as full a life if it weren’t for their constant love and devotion. 
• I celebrate the gift of nature, the antidote for whatever ails me. Whether walking county trails, watching the sunset, or snuggling with my sweet cat, nature solves more than any therapy session.

I’ll admit that life isn’t perfect and rosy. Far from it. My MS has changed in many ways since my diagnosis and I’ve accumulated a few other autoimmune annoyances. At times they wreak havoc on me and I can spend days on end cooped up at home wondering when it’ll all be over, if at all. I do my best to manage my health with a lot of self-care to literally get me back on my feet.   

So Happy 61st Birthday to me! I look forward to adventures ahead despite any setbacks that come my way, and to the endless possibilities that lie before me. I know I can do this. 

I also want to celebrate YOU for being with me here in this space. It means so much to have you join my journey. Thank you for your kind and caring comments. You’ll never know how much they mean to me. 

Since I get extra birthday wishes (because I say I do!) I WISH YOU a healthy, joyful, and peaceful life.     

Namaste.