Today is my birthday.

It’s probably not a surprise if I say that I’ve been  known to throw a spontaneous gathering or two in honor of the occasion, right? 

These wing dings are never too fancy or fussy. But,  pretty much always, my birthday involves some friends.  Some years perhaps more than others, but still, I like to be around people today especially.

Not going to happen this year, I thought to myself this morning.   No way to see people outside of the family.  We had a special family supper set already.  I had been looking forward to it all week. I was setting up my day around that event, actually.

Then, out of the blue, a text message dinged on my phone.  “Hey, would you like to get together for a birthday walk?” 

A quick flurry of messages went back and forth.  Within 30 minutes, we’d found an agreeable time and set a place for four of us to gather.  We often broke into groups of two, trying to maintain the guidelines of six feet apart at a minimum at all times.  It was a perfect spring day, and two hours flew by.  The walk left all us in a good mood.

My family completed the day with even more thoughtful ideas.  One son blew leaves off the front flower garden.  Another had finally hung the wooden planter boxes he’d worked on two years ago.  The lovely young ladies in our lives brought gifts and one made a homemade card, complete with photos of the whole family. 

Now, at the end of the day, I see that the “silver lining” today was how wrong I was about how it would be “strange birthday”.  I’m calling it a “special birthday” instead!