But I Smile Anyway…

Thanks, Spidey, for allowing me to use one of my old posts as inspiration today for a chat.

Yesterday I was blessed with a very short visit from my parents. You guys know how much they mean to me, and they aren’t close by, so any chance for us to go there, or for them to come over is welcomed.

This weekend they were in the South for a wedding and another function, so came to spend a night with us, before heading back to the Midlands.

It so happened that they were here on my Finndian nephew’s 5th birthday. Happy birthday my gorgeous boy!

And Pops’ 5th birthday, too.

Confused? Don’t be. Let me explain. My father is a bit like the monarch of the UK, with more than one birthday. (He likes to celebrate three times, actually.)

The first is his actual birthday.

His second is on the day of his heart attack. As he always feels like he was given a second birth that day, allowed to live more.

And his third came five years ago, as my mum was in Finland, awaiting the birth of above mentioned Finndian nephew 2.0. Pops was at my cousin’s house and came down with something. They thought it was a gastro virus, but it ended up being a rupture in his intestines that had leaked stomach acid over goodness knows how long, into his stomach cavity. After emergent, life-saving surgery, even the surgeon said he had never seen such a red, angry stomach before!

So, again, he overcame something huge and is still with us today. And that is his third birthday.

And we will always celebrate those extra days with him, because each year shaves a layer of his strength off him, and as the quote above says, parents are fragile… we just don’t always remember.

My parents mean the world to me, and I will always cherish every day I have with them.

So, Peeps, have you ever thought about celebrating an extra day in the year? 😊