On Birthdays and Growing

This post first appeared on jazifresh.com

Sometimes time is used against us—for what you should be or possess or have done. I really tried to be intentional this year in ensuring that, for me, the date was not to mark just my accomplishments or what I have done as a means of comparison to others but a deliberate pause to show gratitude for still being here and still trying. I know I've grown because I see myself and others with a clarity I did not previously possess—for reasons that had nothing to do with time but with the pliability of my mind to the ideas that I never knew had a place in this world and my life. Even Nova, my bounding and bubbly two year old, has had her world stretched and spread out before her in the most magical way. Who are we to measure how far she's come in the number of words she knows or on a growth chart? Why would it ever be prudent to measure her against her peers? Who is served by this? The real wonder simply isn't there. But she has grown. All on her own. No matter what development milestones have to say.So on our birthday week this year, we went with the flow—doing mostly what we’ve always done. I'm not highlighting all of Nova's kid “tricks” or even any of my own. I'm just writing to say we're still here and still moving and still growing. And all of these we do together in laughter and love.