Commemoration

It happens every year. When we are young, their arrival means gifts. When we are in our twenties it means a party. When we are old, we try to avoid them but they come eventually anyways...birthdays! Today is a friend of mine's "big one" and its made me strat to reflect on the topic a bit.

Its funny, when a mother has a child, and she cradles the baby who has just been alive for a week, she will silently acknowledge that its his one week birthday...until its a month, then she will start marking each month until its a year, then she starts counting the years.

Its the same between a pair of lovers. On the one week mark, there is a soft acknowledgement perhaps in bed in the morning. Then the months, then the years. Its these small, often private celebrations that feul the fire of the love that is groing between them. Once they are just just counting the years it reminds them of that love, and strengthens them to last.

Convesrley it is the same for the less happy events in life, like death. As the early day sof loss unwind, we remember the weeks, then the months, and once it gets to remembering the year anniversaries, hopefully the pain of that persons passing has integrated into who we are, and the annual reminder is a celebration of that loved one's life, and the impact it had on ours.

Birthdays and Anniversaries are some of the best blessings we have in life. They cause us to take stock. Birthdays make us take stock of our own lives, and to celebrate our accomplishments. Anniversaries make us look at our relationships, and make us thankful for the love we share with that other person. These are the things that build who we are. They are also an opportunity for us to let others see the impact they have had in our lives, and us in theirs.

On Queer as Folk Debbie is talking to Justin about his attendence at Gay Pride. He doesn't want to go because he thinks the whole thing is pointless. Debbie tells him however, "Sunshine, in life you gotta morn the losses, and there will be many, but you gotta celebrate the victories, because there are so few."

So very true. At a time when everything feels like its falling apart. When everybody who has a job is thanking God, while so many are waiting at the unemployment office. People who had so much are loosing so much. The nightly news is filled with daily reports about how hard the economy is crashing, and the President's seemingly daily attempts to fix it. In the midst of all of this, we still stop, and celebrate these landmarks of our lives.

Hapy Birthday Matt!