Proof of Life

Yesterday was the hottest day in recorded history for our region. The temperature hit 40 degrees C, and with the humidex, it felt like almost 50 degrees. That's what I love about living in our climate; the polar extremes of HOT in the summer and FREEZING in the winter. I enjoy the variations and changes that come with the seasons, and because we have four of them, we are pretty much in a constant state of flux and transition.

That's alot like life. We are slowly transitioning from one season to another and along the way we encounter unexpected storms and events, and extreme highs and lows - joy and pain.  We weather through them and try our best to appreciate the gifts that each has to offer, racking up the experience garnered from the stormy times as accumulated wisdom, rendering us more "prepared" for the next time.

In the sweltering heat yesterday, but in the comfort of air conditioning, the fam gathered to celebrated my step mom's (henceforth to be known as Mama T) birthday. No one loves her birthday more than Mama T and gets downright giddy, bubbling over at the cake, candles, presents and photo ops with the family celebs. There are always lots of "oooo's" and "aaahhhh's", "THANK you's" and "love it's". It's a refreshing change from our societal omnipresent dread of aging and birthdays. You can choose to make birthdays a marker of how OLD you are or you can celebrate them as a marker -a gift - of yet ANOTHER year lived and enjoyed. Birthdays are milestones that someone, somewhere in the world will never reach. They are proof of life.

So last night amidst cupcakes (thanks Sis), turkey, homemade fries, ice cream cake, shrimp, chicken wings (thanks Pop), BBQ burgers (thanks Hubby) and a glass or three of wine, we came together as one, and celebrated. Cause every life deserves to be celebrated, and every season enjoyed.