My husband and closest friends are THE GREATEST. They got me so good with a surprise 30th birthday party a week before the actual day. Good food, kids running around all over, a box full of the kindest and most affirming cards, the best chocolate chip cookies, all my favorite people in one place… it was amazing. There were definitely tears. And a whole lot of joy.

Henri Nouwen said it well: “I think it is more important to celebrate a birthday than a successful exam, a promotion, or a victory. Because to celebrate a birthday means to say to someone: Thank you for being you. Celebrating a birthday is exalting life and being glad for it. On a birthday we do not say: Thanks for what you did, or said, or accomplished. No, we say: Thank you for being born and being among us.“ (Here and Now)