It's my birthday...

And I'll cry if I want to.

I certainly did 6 years ago when I turned 25.  I cried because my life was not where I thought it "should" be at that ideal age I had always aspired to be.

My prospects for a husband...none.
My hot-shot career...70+ hour a week, non-profit mania.
My cool digs in the city...settled in the suburbs.

Man, if I only knew how care-free my life was back then.  That year turned out to be a life-changing year- I met some of my very dearest friends.  I took a less-demanding job at Brenau; and my house became a haven for my first small group through my church.  I also met Tony that year, though it would be a year and a half later before we dated.  All in all, a very good year, really no reason to cry about its onset.

This year, now this year I have a pretty good reason to bawl my eyes out.  And no one would blame me.

My biggest birthday fan is not here to celebrate with me.  My Tony rang in a new year of my life more than even my family.  He started planning months in advance to pull off just the perfect birthday week.  The first year, we had only been dating a couple of months, and he quite honestly almost scared me away with his extravagance.  I had no idea how crazy he was about me!  Over the 4 birthdays we were together, I had everything from a chocolate surprise party with friends, a special date night with Tony in a tux, flowers, flowers, and more flowers, snowmobiling in Colorado, and for my 30th last year, he arranged a family surprise party as well as a girls night with all my closest girlfriends, including a surprise from 2 from out of town, to start a new birthday tradition - Korean Kareoke.

Yep, that's right, Korean Kareoke; I have not laughed so hard with my girls since college.  And my sweet friends have made plans to do it again - I can't think of a better way to celebrate a very hard birthday.  Oh, and I'm also celebrating with pedicures with mom, a massage from KK, a family party, not to mention the hundreds of Facebook posts.  Wow, I feel so loved.  I am so blessed.

So, yes, a few tears may come, they may not.  I'm sure to laugh a lot too.  I'll just take life as it comes, as God provides and leads, for surely that is the best way to live.

Dearly loved, at 31,
Melissa