Nostalgic

(I intended this blog to be posted yesterday, February 17th)
I am feeling nostalgic today. Yes, those who know me might be aware that Feb. 17th is my birthday and in my small world birthdays are BIG!! I think everyone should be celebrated on their birthday and I strongly advertise for my own birthday every year. This year was no exception and although I usually advocate for birthday cards, each year setting the goal that I must get more cards then I am years old, (a higher ambition every year!) I decided to forgo that tradition and ask the church folk to, instead of buying me a card, throw some coins in the birthday jar and whatever came in by way of contribution I would match and the whole amount will go to the Mission and Service Fund of the United Church. It seems much better stewardship to see that money go to a good cause then to be ploughed into greeting cards that will end up in the blue box. I just did a quick count of the coins and bills in the birthday jar and so far the collection comes to just over $330 so when I match it the M&S Fund will be up by at least $660.A pretty good birthday celebration I would say.

The main feeling I have this birthday is one of nostalgia. I have just entered a new decade and these birthdays that end in 0 always seem a little more significant, even though, as one person put it, it is just a number! To mark the occasion I spent a lovely overnight with my four dearest life-long friends. Really, we have known each other since we were young children; 4 of the five of us were baptized in the same rural church as infants. Our friendship has grown deeper and richer over the decades.

As I drove home from our reunion in Toronto my mind was wandering and all of a sudden I had an overwhelming memory of my mom. It was like she was right there beside me. I could feel her presence and hear her voice. Then I could see my father. It was a surreal moment when I felt their presence, even though they have been dead for years. I was hit with a wave of nostalgia and in it I felt their love and was reminded of their dedication to their family.

I am the youngest of five and have always felt the privilege of knowing that I was loved and that my love was valued by my siblings. I know it is not a feeling that everyone enjoys and so I treasure it. My family were poor and my parents scrambled to make ends meet but we were never shortchanged on love and the instilling of important values. And, what we lacked in financial resources was compensated for in faith and service to others.

I think one of the main benefits of a birthday is it marks the passing of time and gives us pause to consider the important moments and experiences of life. While in Toronto I saw the movie Boyhood in the closing scene a young woman says to her friend, “You know how they say, ‘Seize the moment? I think sometime the moment seizes me.” I agree and, on my birthday, a moment of gratitude has seized me.