I don’t know anyone who can resist singing along when hearing this song (click above)! I wonder if Stevie knew the huge impact that his version would have on so many special occasions since its 1983 release championed the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday.
As Stevie plays in the back of my mind and I reminisce about buttercream coated memories from past birthday blowouts, I am haunted each year with the dilemma of deciding how to commemorate the day that I was born. While there is always this part of me that secretly wants to stay in, I find myself at a crossroads when it comes down to just relaxing and doing absolutely nothing. Another birthday, another “trip” around the sun…isn’t that cause enough for celebration?
Growing up, we all have done the BIG day countdown. Now I find myself questioning if I am alone in feeling like birthdays have a way of sneaking up these days. Especially when you are not celebrating a milestone where someone is throwing a bash in your honor, planning seems like too much effort. Like me, you may have spent birthdays mastering your shocked face for surprise parties, refusing to leave the snuggly comfort of your sofa or following the sweet trails of a cupcake crawl; but when was your last birthday getaway? Dreaming about a break is one thing, but actually giving ourselves permission to pause to make it happen can easily fade into the sea of responsibilities that come with the demands of daily living.
Blue Lagoon Iceland
Self-care was top-of-mind when I decided to ditch the cake & ice cream for my 30th birthday, gifting myself with an Icelandic adventure. The only thing my celebratory dip in the Blue Lagoon was missing was a glimpse of the Northern Lights, but I had no regrets as I laid back in the milky blue matcha hued water, my mind drifting away with the fluffy clouds above the lava field. I’ll never forget how the silica enriched mud found at the bottom of the lagoon felt like pure magic when I smoothed it over my brown skin, the water falling like the softest silk between my fingers. Swapping a moonlit candlelight dinner for a visit to a country with no darkness offered an epic opportunity to share a midnight toast in broad daylight with the dynamic woman who brought me into this world at the tender age of 20. Enchanted as the light reflected off my flute; I reveled in this moment of being free from the ties that are attached to who to invite, where to go and how to execute.
Skip the thank you notes all together and let this year be the year that you gift yourself with the time to do something for you. Consider checking off your bucket list a faraway place where you haven’t been. Whether you are saying bye-bye to your 30’s or inching into another decade, where would you want to celebrate your next birthday? Just getting back from a birthday trip? Drop a line below, I would love to hear all about it!
“Live for the moments that you can’t put into words, because the memories that makeup forever are composed of nows” - unknown