A Time for Celebration and Remembrance

Picture of Anna before school today

Happy birthday to my daughter! 

She's 6 today! She's excited, but not as much as you would think a 6 year old GIRL would be. She probably gets more excited about her brother's birthday than she does about her own.

Of course, she IS excited to see me bring cupcakes to her class, and will be excited when we go to dinner so she can see her cousins. She IS excited about her presents...but quietly so. You put her in front and expect her to burst from excitement and you're more likely to see her burst into tears.

Anna trying not to smile/cry while people sing Happy Birthday

The other day when we got together for Easter, she was propped up on the counter while we (lots and lots of "we") sang Happy Birthday to her.

I took pictures...and expected to see tears.

 

 

 It's not only my daughter's birthday today, it's my dad's birthday as well. 

He would have been 69 today. It's a fine line when celebrating a child's birthday while remembering someone who is no longer with you. It's another when they're both related to you.

My dad didn't make a big deal out of his own birthday, but you bet he was the one baking a cake for you for your birthday. It wasn't decorated fancily, and sometimes didn't look edible. But that was the point of it...it wasn't the presentation as much as it was the what came before it...the background...the "essence" I suppose.

Our relationship was sort of like that. You talk to my sisters and brother, and of course their relationship with him was completely different. My oldest sister and him actually talked to each other. That's a concept that I've pondered over the years. And laughed at...because my dad and I didn't talk. We had the same personality...we took comfort in each other's company, but rarely talked. We would take small hikes in the woods, we would watch "The Andy Griffith Show" together, and stay up late to watch Alfred Hitchcock on Friday nights.

Even though he wasn't a great talker, he was there...and it mattered. Even though he didn't make a big deal about any of it, he was the one baking the cakes or dyeing easter eggs and hiding them.

So in celebrating my daughter's birthday, I'm also celebrating my dad's birthday...quietly. And remembering.

My dad with my sister and I (I'm in the blue dress).

Anna as SuperGirl