Everyday Birthdays

Just the other day, I got an inspirational message from  a friend that said "treat everybody like it is their birthday."  I liked that and I knew then I had the topic for this week's column.  Back to that thought in a moment.

I have a granddaughter who lived with us for several months.  Well, she and her whole family did.  

Their south Knoxville house had sold right before the second child was born.  He came a little early so had to spend a month in the NICU at Children's Hospital so the decision was made that they all move in with us.

We're lucky--we all get along quite well.  Maybe others will remember it differently but there were very few conflicts the whole time they were here.  My daughter-in-law really gets along great with her mother-in-law, destroying the stereotypes often found in that arena.

One of my fondest memories from those months was my granddaughter declaring every day as somebody's birthday.  We would all get home in the evening and she would declare with delight "it's Mommy's birthday!" 

Every day.  Everybody got to participate.  Occasionally even I would get to be the birthday designee.  Infrequently, it was her birthday.  But usually it was Mommy.

She would then squeal "happy birthday" and "let's sing happy birthday" (which we did).  We even occasionally did a cake and a candle.

I'm not sure she even realized what a birthday meant but she just knew that on that day, our family job was to make that person feel special.

How cool is that?

This little 2 year old bundle of joy and energy just wanted someone to feel special.  She never had to be prompted and if we came in at different times, she would make sure that we would know whose special day it was.

I would walk in the door:  "Daddy Joe!  It's Mommy's birthday!"

What if we cranky, overworked, it's-been-a-hard-day adults could adopt that attitude?  What if every day, we chose somebody to treat like it is their birthday.

Do you think that there would be more smiles?  More happiness?

I'm not talking about gift giving or cakes with candles.  I'm talking about doing all you can to make them feel special that day.  To demonstrate unconditional love on a daily basis. 

For all my grandkids, when their real birthday rolls around (alas, only once a year), their parents make sure it is a very special day.  Maybe a little extra for this one just because of that not-quite-a-birthday tradition.

How about you?  How about treating someone today like it is their birthday?  It will put a smile on your face.