I don´t celebrate my birthday anymore. Haven´t done so for a number of years. Just a nice meal at home. Cards from one or two close friends, which is nice. I don´t share the details on Facebook & co. In fact, hubby and I have even always missed our meeting/wedding anniversary – it´s coming, it´s coming. Oh, we missed it again!
Of course, the advantage is that we saved money, but better still, we stopped counting. There´s also a difference of opinion on the actual day we met, and when he moved in. The Las Vegas certificate attesting to our marriage about 12 years later was seen with sceptical eyes by my employer in Geneva, but thankfully, the Austrian and Australian consulates agreed that we “did“.
I digress. This post was about birthdays.
I had a card from The Possum today.
She subverted words I gave her when she took off to make her life in Sydney – fly on your wishbone! A boomerang! And suddenly, the card segued into parental cool. And I started thinking about what we might have done right.
We know nothing about parenting, knew even less back then in the early 80s. We took her everywhere with us. She´d sleep on hosts´ beds, on restaurant floors, in planes, cars, trains. But, our space was ours and her space was hers. She was always welcome, and so were we. But as much as we loved her, we all had lives, and the deal was that it had to work out for us all. Sometimes there were tears on all sides. Well-meaning friends said we had it all wrong, but we felt we couldn´t do otherwise. So, we just hung in there.
So this is for The Possum. There are no rules, Luv, just follow your heart and your gut. Boomerang time!
It is indeed a Hippo Bird Day!
ps. date is all wrong;)
Ta, Vanessa and Nuala!
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Happy birthday, Sylvia. I am sure the possum is hugely appreciative of her upbringing. Nuala x
Sounds like you did it Ok, from here. Ive always believed the same – kids arrive, and they have to fit in. But they are people too, and sometimes its fun getting to know them. Hippo Hippo Hippo BitfDEEE!