VIRTUAL BIRTHDAY - Happy Birthday

Wow! The birthday wishes were divine! Many from my friends on Facebook, text messages, phone calls and e-mails! Honestly, it still warms my heart thinking of all of my old friends and "virtual friends" leaving such wonderful wishes. It made me miss quite a few of them, but still better to hear from them then never hearing from them at all. Infact, if I never joined Facebook I would never have been able to hear from many of them who I knew a long time ago. Fantastic! Just added to a fantastic day!

Just think, my birthday may have been a bit "lonelier" even if I had plenty of friends to meet in person. You see my "virtual birthday" just made it even better and I'm so thankful for the people who took the time to let me know that they thought of me!

A few years ago, I would have probably arranged a big lunch or dinner with some of my friends. This year things got a bit busy and it was hard to make plans, so I made a few "low key" plans with a few close friends. This seemed a bit easier to work around my schedule and honestly it would be hard to see people who are just as busy as I am! After all a lot of my friends are parents now and since we are now entering the mid-forties, there is an understanding that sometimes a "thought" is a big deal and way more then enough. AND once you get to this age anyway, it sort of shifts the focus to family. My kids were so excited about decorating the living room and picking "mommy" flowers. My little girl was the first one up at 6am to wish me a few 'Happy Birthdays" in her excited little tone. My son went to pick "SPECIAL" flowers for me in our garden. These are the moments that I will cherish forever and that is why I'm writing this now as I have aged another year.

So, the point is that "virtual birthdays" rock! I got to flash back to "way back when" and one day it would be nice to see everyone in person. But either way, it is just a nice feeling to see them "pop up" once in a while. Some of the "virtual gifts" were awesome and it is getting easier to get and receive gifts via e-mail. My favorite gifts so far are my e-mail Amazon gift cards and the chocolates and sweater my sister sent in the mail! Ok, NOT virtual but fantastic! Another "non virtual" gift that was so cool is an old photo book released by a photographer I never knew or heard about. Cool! Old shots of Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Martin Scorcese and many more in the 70's! What a world we live in! I love old photo books!

So, here I am reflecting on my life and giving thanks for everything I have around me. A wonderful family, good supportive friends and a home in a beautiful and peaceful place. Look, we all have stress and nothing is perfect in this current economy but I'm going to take this time to look at all of the "positive" things. I hope that you have a wonderful "virtual birthday" this year and every year! And remember before you get down on your age, reach out to your "virtual friends" so they can make you feel "better!" Hey, why not? They have not seen you recently and to them you still look 20! ha

Best, GPAGE