For those who’ve known me long enough to have read my inaugural blog post in 2019, you may know that February 1st has baggage for me. I guess everyone has some degree of positive or negative weight associated with their birthday, but for adoptees, it’s just a wee bit more complicated. It’s a little like one of those “How it started/How it’s going” memes with a few extra stages in the middle.
Early childhood- “Woo hoo, I love birthdays! I get presents and lots of attention!”
Teenagehood- “Thank the Lord I can drive, leave home, drink, etc…”
Young adulthood- “Hmmm, this isn’t quite as big of a deal as it used to be.”
30, 35, 40, … “Wow, these milestone birthdays seem to come around often…”
50- “I think I’ll start a blog and open my soul to the world.”
Today- scrolls through phone and social media and thinks… “I wouldn’t trade this journey for the world.”
I may have actually reached the point in my life that I’m able to truly cherish the many years that have added up to today. My messages today came from friends on different continents, friends from elementary school, close family and distant relatives, former colleagues from multiple school districts, friends in every city I ever called home, new friends in my new city and workplace, and perhaps most poignantly, my new siblings that have become such important people in my life. It was like a slow motion episode of “This Is Your Life.”
As described in my 2019 birthday blog, this day used to be clouded by the longings of a child in want of biological answers. Now that I have those answers, however bittersweet they are, I can celebrate all the beauty of my adopted life, my independent adult life, the family Miles and I have made together, and the newly found missing pieces of my heart – my bio dad’s son, Tom (and his awesome wife, Cari), and my bio mom’s three children, Katie, Betsy, and Joe (along with their amazing dad, Dave, 6 nieces and nephews, and a great brother in-law, Pat).
I can honestly assess my birthday well being today and describe it as light hearted, reflective, and grateful. In a year where these words have been far too scarce, I’m going to fall asleep with a smile on my face tonight and call that a very big win. It really has been a happy birthday.
The Second Half Blog 