{"id":40185,"date":"2013-06-18T15:52:59","date_gmt":"2013-06-18T20:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=40185"},"modified":"2013-06-18T15:52:59","modified_gmt":"2013-06-18T20:52:59","slug":"your-birthday-a-day-to-celebrate-or-to-dread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/06\/your-birthday-a-day-to-celebrate-or-to-dread\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Birthday: A Day To Celebrate or To Dread?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"birthday<\/a>Birthdays can be such a beautiful thing. Until they aren\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We celebrate the milestones, like the first birthday, with much fanfare. Cake, friends, gifts and joy permeate the air. The first year is complete! Then there\u2019s double digits, entrance to the teenage years, sweet sixteen and glorious 21.<\/p>\n

And then it stops. We start to dread the milestones: \u00a030, 40, 50. Then, around age 80, the joy comes back. A life well lived sneaks into the room and glows on a wonderfully delicious cake. Friends and family happily sing the birthday song.<\/p>\n

How does that happen? Are the years between 21 and 80 really that bad, or have we forgotten how to live?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just last week I celebrated my 39th<\/sup> birthday, and published my now-annual “things I want to do<\/a>.” There was celebration alright. In fact, I\u2019ve always referred to June as birthday month. It wasn\u2019t until I shared my recent milestone with a friend that I was astonished by her reply, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

That got me thinking and reflecting and praying.<\/p>\n

I always try to remember the joy that must have surrounded my birth. My mom tells me at 9:14 a.m. on June 11, her whole world changed. I definitely remember my tenth birthday, I got stitches at camp and had bubblegum ice cream to celebrate. A counselor told me, \u201cDouble digits rock!\u201d I agree. When I turned 13, we hosted a nerd party and everyone dressed up appropriately. My dad even busted out his Army boots to play the part. At age 16, my parents conspired with friends and stole my car, filling it with confetti and balloons. It wasn\u2019t until I almost made the call to the police that they all fessed up. Best birthday gag ever.<\/p>\n

All the years in between, while rarely perfect, have never taken away the joy I have for my birthday. As I enjoy the last year of my 30s I\u2019m only filled with one thing: gratitude. A family friend recently quipped \u201cyoung people are in the obituaries, too.\u201d My day of celebration has reminded me, much like the start of Lent or New Year\u2019s Day, that it\u2019s a time to start anew, set goals and transform myself.<\/p>\n

What will you do on your birthday?<\/strong> Celebrate the adventure or dread the inevitable. I say, live it up. Eat some cake, celebrate with friends and know that the day you entered the world is always celebrated by God. That\u2019s reason enough to belt out \u201chappy birthday,\u201d don\u2019t you think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Birthdays can be such a beautiful thing. Until they aren\u2019t. We celebrate the milestones, like the first birthday, with much fanfare. Cake, friends, gifts and joy permeate the air. The first year is complete! Then there\u2019s double digits, entrance to the teenage years, sweet sixteen and glorious 21. And then it stops. We start to… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[1761,518,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-40185","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"tag-birthdays","8":"tag-celebration","9":"tag-prayer","10":"entry","11":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43070,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/12\/christmas-eve-bust-cake-candles\/","url_meta":{"origin":40185,"position":0},"title":"It’s Christmas Eve: Bust out the Cake & Candles!","author":"Kathryn Whitaker","date":"December 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Christmas Eve only means one thing: a baby is about to be born! The excitement is crackling in the air. Can\u2019t you feel it? A birthday to celebrate. A new life to love! Many of my most favorite family traditions center around Christmas Eve. Yes, we attend Mass, have a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"christmas eve, blog_01","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/christmas-eve-blog_01-300x147.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7680,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2011\/11\/happy-thanksgiving-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":40185,"position":1},"title":"Happy Thanksgiving!","author":"Martina","date":"November 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Whether you are spending time with family, friends, coworkers, or even by yourself, we want to wish you a very wonderful and pleasant Thanksgiving. May your day be filled with the true sentiment of the day {laced with Mass for the ultimate thanksgiving in the Eucharist, followed by a yummy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Happy-Thanksgiving-Day-300x240.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":147630,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/chaplet-child-mary\/","url_meta":{"origin":40185,"position":2},"title":"Chaplet of the Child Mary","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"September 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 The Chaplet of the Child Mary (to be prayed on ordinary rosary beads) written by me in honor of Our Lady's Birthday Make the sign of the cross and pray the Sh'ma, a prayer the little Mary would have grown up reciting every day with her Jewish family and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"photo Shawn Chapman","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/476622_3665381757608_1810148288_o-550x367.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/476622_3665381757608_1810148288_o-550x367.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/476622_3665381757608_1810148288_o-550x367.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120372,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/easy-green-reflection-ordinary-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":40185,"position":3},"title":"Easy Green: A Reflection on Ordinary Time","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"June 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My daughter, Maire, got in trouble at her Catholic middle school for wearing green nail polish, which was against the rules. (Only clear or light pink nail polish allowed, if I remember right.) When asked about her indiscretion, she said, \u201cIt\u2019s for Ordinary Time!\u201d I laughed hearing about that. At\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"circular-liturgical-calendar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/circular-liturgical-calendar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24893,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/10\/whatever-you-do-just-do-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":40185,"position":4},"title":"Whatever You Do: Just Do It","author":"Brandon Kraft","date":"October 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I love the month of October. Such a wide variety of important dates fall within the month, that we now have an annual \"Kraftoberfiesta\" to celebrate. This year, Vanessa and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on the 4th, I remembered my dad on what would have been his 69th birthday\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43274,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/giver-gift-new-years-resolution\/","url_meta":{"origin":40185,"position":5},"title":"The Giver and the Gift: A New Year’s Resolution","author":"Trey and Stephanie Cashion","date":"January 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights\u00a0- James 1:17 A little over 40 years ago, my mom taught me a lesson that I will never forget: The giver of a gift is always more important than the gift itself. \u00a0I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ACNM"","block_context":{"text":"ACNM","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"104239709","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/1042397091-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}