If you read my last blog, you will hear the heavy dread surrounding my birthday. Well, that birthday has come and gone. And like everything else in life, I survived. The feelings have come and gone. The sadness has come and gone. And even the joy and celebration has come and gone. I decided to take my birthday dread and disappointment and try to flip it. I planned a brunch for all of my friends. Of course, I was originally slightly annoyed with having to work so hard and host on MY birthday. Let’s be honest, I would love for someone else to throw me an event. But my life doesn’t work like that. So I wanted a get-together, I was going to have to plan a get-together. And that’s what I did. This gathering was not just a gathering to celebrate my birthday, but also a thank you to my friends who got me through a tough time last year. It could have been something simple like a “how are you?” text, or a shared laugh, or listening to me vent or cry. My friends were there in many ways that even they may not have realized. So after that crappy year, I wanted to celebrate! I fought off the annoyance with those who didn’t RSVP, I fought of my resentment to those who did RSVP and then didn’t come, and I buckled down and enjoyed my day with fabulous friends. Good food, good drinks, good converstion and good laughs. Perfection. I toasted to a better year and moving forward in life with joy, peace and love. And I want to have all of that. I am leaving my weight issues at the door. I am leaving the concern over being single at my age at the door. They can hang out with the rest of the baggage I’m ditching. If this crazy life has taught me anything, it is that we can just take it day by day. We either survive or we don’t. And while we are surviving, we have to remember that it won’t always feel like this. Whether its knowing that the hard days will pass, or knowing that the fun days don’t last forever so we need to embrace them. We survive. We go on. And that alone is a reason to celebrate. Every day is your damn birthday!