Tomorrow, I turn 37.
I love my birthday, I treat it like it’s a holiday, and a month long sort of thing.
In the years past, I’ve planned for weeks, researched a cool vibe to celebrate, recreated spaces to make a new look and feel, yet this year, I am subtly excited about what celebration could look like.
Maybe because I am a twin, I go hard. The way my adoptive mom wanted to celebrate became the norm. I never had an issue with it. It has become a fantastic tradition for me. (mostly)
Birthdays of the past, especially as children, we would rent out a skating arenas in Germany, go horseback riding when we lived in Hawaii, sleep over at an amusement park one year in VA, while being able to invite our friends to each of these experiences. This childhood memory just pushed me to have an adult life where I’d share my birthday celebrations with others by hosting VIP experiences, host a dinner party, or make a whole weekend of it.
This year, and really this month, I just want to spend time around people.
COVID-19 and living at home during lock down pandemic life felt SO long. It was dark and slow, and hard to get excited about something when the world was so uncertain.
This year, it just feels so right to get out and be.
No frills, no pomp and circumstance, just be.
Be with people; Trent, Elijah and friends I consider family.
Other friends I consider family and family I don’t live near, I love hearing/reading and seeing what kind of birthday messages and thoughts people share.
Growth.
No major expectations, no solid plans made in advance, and finding peace in that.
I’d certainly call that change for sure. And if you have been to any of my birthday parties in the past, you might agree, hehe!
I did buy a box of donuts from my favorite local spot, Okie Donuts; so no need for a brownie this year. (I prefer brownies instead of bday cake).
I am a sentimental person and I appreciated a new friend sending a gift to my favorite store, Old Navy, of $37 for my 37th bday! I love this kind of stuff. This year I am embracing simple and meaningful. Hearing or reading my name is meaningful, because my newest identity as “mommy” I rarely hear “Molly”— strange.
Like the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, I feel thankful God has healed me in time to enjoy March 31st, (and healed most of my family members from our intense sicknesses which might be seasonal allergies taking over our bodies). For me, I feel a sense of emergence in me and in Monarch Connections.
I’m coming out more often because it’s brighter, out of the house after 10 days of sickness and ear infections, and back out into social spaces again.
As Monarch Connections grows, I have some great ideas emerging too.
I think it is safe to say, Spring has sprung and I am out of my sick fog enough to begin thinking deeper and dreaming about what is next.
Thank you for being connected <3
Phrases like “More than Me” and “Community over …” and “In Person Experiences” are just a few ways I can begin to share what is taking shape, and becoming the next way of Monarch Connections so please stay tuned.
Thank you for helping me grow this March,
- Molly