Tuesday, September 29, 2015

A Season of Birthdays

Birthdays!  Sometimes it seems as though all our boys want to talk about is their birthday.  Typically they begin planning their next birthday party about a month after their birthday.  Here I am just recuperating from the past few months of birthdays and parties, and they're already talking about the next one!  So we have a standing rule established that starts in January: no birthday talk until Dylan's birthday.  In August!


Sometimes the mundane of daily existence can outshine moments.  Special moments need to be embraced.  It is in the stopping, the experiencing of those moments where we catch the true essence of what matters.

Although birthday talk is banished for a great part of the year, we try our best to make each birthday special.  Family traditions have evolved over the past almost nine years to become a family dinner consisting of the birthday boys' favourite, cake and, of course, presents on the actual day.  We try not to overdo.  Dinner is simple and homemade.  Gifts are small, consisting of useful items and candy.  Weekday birthdays usually mean the cake will be cupcakes with icing.  Nothing fancy.

We want our boys to appreciate simple,  We want them to understand the things that truly matter are made up of moments, not money.  It is about being with people they truly enjoy and love, not a place.  It is about embracing what is happening around and for them, not what they get.

September is Nicholas's birthday month.  He turned the most wonderful age of 5!  He's still at that magical stage of being excited about all things in life.  He's also at the age in our family where he could have a small birthday party with a few friends.  This means now there are two events surrounding each boys birthday, the family meal AND a kid party.  But in a family our size, it's nice to be able to celebrate them as individuals more than once to make them feel really special.


It's also a chance for us to do a fancy decorated cake (I use the word 'fancy' loosely here, by the way).  It's taken us a few years of practice, but I'd say this cake is our best yet.  It had candy and a monster truck on a ramp, Nicholas was thrilled!

There isn't a boys in our house who isn't excited by a gift of candy in any form.  I hope my boys will always appreciate the simple gift of a chocolate bar.  Not because of what it is, but because it was a gift given to them.

2 comments:

  1. Love this! And I love that you're fostering simplicity while still allowing each child special focus and attention. Well done, Momma :)

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    1. Thank you! Watching the boys as they celebrate one another for just being their brother is another bonus I forgot to add above.

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