Happy Birthday
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
I often hear people say that our children are loaned to us by God. I slightly disagree with that statement. I understand the concept, but people are eternal. Several passages in the Bible indicate that our relationships are eternal, too. So, maybe God loaned us these four children in an earthly context, but it isn’t the same as borrowing a library book!
All that to say, we are celebrating today. It’s a milestone birthday for our second daughter, Serenity. (If you aren’t listening to her new podcast, please check it out here.)
She is amazing, just like her siblings, but every candle on her cake has extra emotion attached for all of us. Twenty-some years ago, she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. Those were the words the doctor used. Rare and aggressive.
She was also barely pregnant with their third child.
If you want to learn about the first months of that journey, read her lovely book in which I am given way more credit than I deserve for holding myself together in the surgeon’s office.
Two weeks after Serenity delivered her third son (a magnificent young man today), she went in for all the scans. The doctor recommended weeks of radiation, and he told us the biggest side effect was that she might have arthritis in that spot when she was 65.
Sixty-five. That is all I heard. Six months ago, they told us she might not live to give birth to Jake. Now someone is talking about her turning sixty-five! I can’t tell you how hard I held onto that line in the surgeries, chemo, and recurrences that followed.
She most certainly is not celebrating 65 today, in case you wondered! She is celebrating, though, and so are we. She is pictured here on a trip to New York City, and I think it captures her perfectly. Beauty, light, sweet treats, and adventures. There is absolutely nothing old about that. Nothing but joy!
(Note to her heroic and supportive husband, Michael. I did not include the picture of you sitting at a Serendipity table in NYC. You are welcome.)
