Greetings, friends of the Silver Blogger community. Today I want to tell you about my birthday celebration, seven days ago. I say "my" because celebrating is also a personal act, where I choose to give thanks, hug myself, pamper myself, and wish myself the best for the new journey.

At midnight, I meditated on my life and all the good things I'd experienced last year. I wrapped my arms around myself. What a new feeling! I don't think it had ever occurred to me to hug myself, but I did, and I wished myself many wonderful things.

A few minutes later, I received the intonation of Happy Birthday with pleasant congratulatory messages from a very dear friend. Here, we usually sing a whole song with very beautiful messages: ; this has become a tradition on every birthday, before blowing out the candles on the cake. I heard it later from three of my grandchildren and then at a luncheon my cousins ​​hosted for me.

Throughout the day, I received loving calls and messages on my phone and social media. This is something I enjoy; I take the time to respond one by one. I'm grateful to have received such appreciation from my loved ones.

I've been quite reflective these days. I think, for example, about how age relates to our lifestyle. The topics of conversation adapt to them: in childhood, there was always something to do with crayons and drawings; later, popular bands or singers, then movies. Then children arrive, and the topics change again. Everything related to their growth is discussed in our discussions. Finally, at this age, and due to the circumstances, since I'm living with close people, goodbyes come to the fore.

My friends are around my age, with their own ailments. I visited a sister-in-law the day before, who was suffering from kidney disease. She's 83 years old, an optimistic and cheerful person who sees something to learn in everything that happens to her.

Then I traveled to another city to visit another friend, 87 years old, who is in very poor health. Sometimes she recognizes me. It's a painful goodbye because she has been a very special person in my life.

I think we do a lot to welcome a new being into this world, but we haven't yet learned how to say goodbye to the one who, inevitably, leaves. We will all leave at the right time, but we don't know how to face such a natural process as dying, and for now, I don't think I can accept it.

I reach 69 years of age, grateful, content, and with convictions that make me who I am. We are not the same; But we have the same rights. We don't feel emotions the same way. I even think there are no words to describe some of them. We feel them but don't know how to describe them. Although we share beliefs, we don't experience them the same way. We are unique and unrepeatable, and that makes us worthy of establishing that exchange to get to know each other better. Long live life, long live love.
#

My content is original.
I used Google Translate.
Images are my own.