Celebrate LIFE!

At a recent birthday party for 6-year-old Maddox, I asked the audience of boys and girls scattered around on the living room carpet to wish Maddox a "Happy Birthday!" There were twenty-plus kids - all his best friends from school along with his four brothers and baby sister and these kids practically gang-tackled Maddox. They patted him on the back, rubbed his head and gave him hugs while screaming their birthday wishes! A KIDshow can often seem on the edge of anarchy (unless you are an expert at audience control like myself), but order was quickly restored after a few more laughs and yells.

And why not?  I couldn't help but appreciated the zeal of the impromptu celebration. This day was all about Maddox, a celebration of HIM - not something he had done, not an accomplishment of some type and not a holiday in the traditional sense. Just him. The unique, perfect, wonderful Maddox.

Birthdays are a celebration of LIFE and the gratitude we feel for that person being in our lives. It seems to me there is nothing more important than celebrating the lives of the people we love.

Ideally, we would show this appreciation every day, but a birthday is a special celebration for a unique, singular individual whom we are fortunate to know. Think about Maddox again - four brothers and one sister between the ages of 3 and 10-years-old - a great big, happy, loving family. And having that day be all about that one little guy does great things for his self-esteem and his sense of place within his family and within the world.

Make the most of each birthday in your family. Let those you love know how much you appreciate their place in your life. Celebrate LIFE.