It's been along time since I wrote a post for the ladies of hive community. This week's challenge is very challenging and compelling. I found both the questions inspiring but I've decided to answer the second one due to my recent life experiences.
This is my response to ladies of hive community contest #109. This quoted below is the question I'd like to answer.
Death is an unusual topic of conversation, but remembering death makes us appreciate life. If this were your last birthday, how would you like to celebrate it and why?
Last October I met death face to face, within a period of two weeks I had two heart attacks and another minor one which resolved quickly. I know I am truly blessed to be alive and writing this today. My heart fills with gratitude for every moment I spend on this earth, I consider this borrowed time.
It's truly tragic that we know so many things yet we don't truly understand the full impact of the information we have until we come face to face with reality. Until one meets death one doesn't understand the things that matter the most in life. We have bucket lists and things to do as if life goes on forever. Sadly death comes uninformed and uninvited and catches us unawares.
I have never been one for celebrating birthdays. Pomp and show has never been a part of my life. I love simplicity and enjoy the little things of life. I would celebrate my last birthday just as I have done most of my birthdays, spending time with family, spending time with God, doing things for my loved ones and hoping to see happiness writ large on their faces.
When I lay in the ambulance that flew across the city sounding its siren I thought of the picture my younger son gave to me just the day before. It was a remembrance card printed for his classmate's mother. She was much younger than I, she taught in the same Medschool to which I was being taken and where he studies. This lady had a heart attack while on the campus and she was brought dead to the Emergency Room, just a few minutes away from where she was at the time of the attack. My journey in that ambulance lasted 30 minutes and I live to tell my story.
That was my moment of truth, I only prayed for my family, not for my recovery, I was prepared for anything. However when I was recovering after surgery and lay in bed all I could think of was the things I need to do before death came knocking at my doors again. The things I will do on my birthday have been determined by this personal experience I have just described.
My birthday will always be a day of gratitude for the time I am given on this earth. I have a list of things to be grateful for, I would spend time thanking God for those things, that is how I'd like to begin my day. Most of all I am so grateful for my family, my strength and my support always.
Birthdays are times when family and friends remember you and wish you well. It will be my special time to tell them how much I love them. Don't get me wrong, I won't wait for my birthday to do so, but I wow to make it a special day for them by letting them know how precious they are to me.
I have always wanted was to live in peace. Peace with everyone around and peace within. No conflicts for me, nothing is worth losing my peace over. I will spend time making peace with anyone I need to make peace with. No partying for me, peace and quiet is how I'd like to celebrate my birthday. That's how I like it.
My birthdays have always been time to give. We (the hubs and I) give a decent sum of money to an orphanage we support. Do good all through the year and if possible celebrate my special day/s with the less privileged is what I believe in.
To make each minute count every day of my life and more so on my birthday would be aim. Time is the most valuable thing we have on this Earth, not our possessions nor our investments. Time is what God/the universe (depends on what you believe in) has invested in you and I, make it count. Don't squander it away doing things of less import. I would invest my time with my family, the hubs and the boys. I would be the happiest for doing so.
Doing things together has always been my idea of fun. I've always loved taking road trips or going for a trek with the hubs and the boys. I am not sure if I can do much of that now, but this is what I'd like to do with my family on my birthday. Have fun together and make great memories.
I would perhaps write letters to my boys and their wives to be. I don't think I would have met their wives if this were my last birthday. So I'd tell them things about their husband they wouldn't otherwise know. Maybe I would also make an album of memorable times in their lives for the ladies to see and appreciate. I would make sure to add this last birthday celebration pictures and videos there.
I may also consider leaving fun audio messages for my grand babies. I would like them to remember me by my voice and fun things about their family and how we celebrated everything important as a family, always.
On my birthday I would let my loved ones know that they should celebrate my life and not grieve over me. I would ask them to video-graph the fun moments we have together on my birthday and play it later in their moments of grief.
I would like to watch the sunset with my husband on my birthday. There are many sunsets we have watched together be it moments of sadness and pain or joy. We've never had to say a word to each other, we'd just know what the other was thinking and feeling at the moment. This would be a celebration of the 30 years we've been together.
My last birthday would be celebrated in my garden. The place I love the most in our home. The usual cutting of the cake and the blowing of the candles would be done with all the plants I love and my doggos too. Maybe the birdies I so love to watch could join in as well. What better way to celebrate my last birthday!
Oh I forgot to tell you that our dogs love birthday celebrations. The moment they see us setting up the cake and the candles they are ready for the show. So it would be a great mistake to leave them out of all the fun.
Thanks for reading this post and spending time with me. I appreciate it very much.
Image used in this post is mine.
