Another Blessed Day

I always wanted my birthday to be just like any other day, with usual routines, usual problems to tackle, embarrassment to bear and little delight to marvel at. It would be one of the real 365 days of one's life. This is mostly how this day has unrevealed itself.

I woke up in the morning to find a card (or a note) on the dinner table. In hand-writing with black ink on white, the husband re-proclaimed his love for me. After all these years, he still has a way of saying the same simple thing differently each time he says it…

I drove Sienna to Thea's 6th birthday party, a dancing party by two hired organizers. Sienna was looking forward to this. All of sudden though, she decided that she would rather lean on my lap and not to be part of the party. I couldn't believe this was the same girl that begged our friend to play on the piano yesterday so that she could dance all night long. Leaving the scene was not an option as I promised to help with the set up and clean up of the party. So I shoveled her back to the group, more than once.

The strange thing is for the past few years, every time we did things together with Thea, Sienna started being cranky. I spoke with a couple of friends about the situation. They said maybe because Sienna gets intimidated by Thea who is socially much more advanced. That makes sense. Thea came up to me while I was watching them play after the party. She handed me a piece of paper scribbled with lines and waves. "This is the contract for you to sign. Our company will come to help with your daughter's birthday party," she said. That's how smart and forceful she is. So I signed even that was a real contract. Sienna on the other hand is not even willing to utter one extra word.

Finally on our way home in the car, Sienna enjoyed her quiet moment with CD playing mozat and watching the leaves dancing on the street. As if talking to herself, she went, "Mommy, the winter is coming because the sun is moving away from the earth." At that moment, I felt so sorry about forcing her to stay. I could have joined the dance with her. There were a couple of other parents who did that. Or maybe if I could just be more gentle with her... I apologized to her and explained how I felt. I proposed next time in that kind of situation, she should look around and find someone she thinks is likely to be her friend with and approach that person to introduce herself. She told me that she would try... I also pointed out how she should ask Thea's mother if she could have a care bear toy instead of repeating that she liked care bear. Sienna responded fully understanding her problem, "I know, Mommy."

It's 4pm when we got home. She agreed not to find another friend to play. She would keep mommy company because it was her birthday. Three of us had a quiet dinner together.