national holiday

As I was driving from work to daycare/school this evening I remembered years ago someone said, "Your birthday is not a national holiday.  And neither are your kids' birthdays."


She was not talking directly to me.  She was on a panel of female partners addressing a room only partially filled with women attorneys.  Each woman on the panel was sharing the keys to her success on her path to a leadership position in the firm.  She was describing the balance she decided to strike between time spent on work and time spent on herself (and her kids).  She explained that, at some point in her career, she realized that sometimes you have to rearrange things in your personal life in order to meet the demands of your professional life.  So, for example, your kid's birthday falls on a Wednesday - you may need to celebrate it on a Saturday.

I get it.

We are all trying to strike the balance in one way or another.  Ask Ms. Slaughter.

So I will spare you the details of my day.  The moment I realized that I would not be able to get to Bug's school in time to enjoy his birthday cupcakes with his class.  The moment I started to hope that maybe, in fact, I would be able to go for cupcakes.  The moment I resigned myself to missing the freaking cupcakes.

Instead, let me simply acknowledge that Bug's birthday is today.  It is not a national holiday, but it is a very special day in our family.  It is the day we celebrate Bug.

Today is a Family Holiday.

Happy Bug Day, dear one.  May you always know the joy of waking up to find balloons in your room because the Birthday Bunny dropped them off while you were sleeping.  That Birthday Bunny loves you so very much.