The 5 'longest' days of the year

Today is November 1st. (well for another few minutes anyway!)

Between now and next Tuesday were always the 5 longest days of the year for me.

As a kid, all of the excitement leading up to Halloween was eclipsed only by the relish of what was to come just under a week later.

November 6th. My birthday.

And oh, did those few days last forever. I only wish the Halloween candy had lasted nearly as long!

Lately, as I've grown older, I find that those 5 days tend to rush by at least as fast as the rest of my days do. Halloween is still important (for different reasons now) but my birthday is just not the thrill that it used to be. Back when I was the focus of the day and my mom spent her time making sure that it was special and memorable.

Just as I do for my girls on their birthdays.

I remember my mom's birthdays being a reason to go out to dinner, make her a card and maybe buy or make her a gift. She never placed a lot of importance on her birthdays, so I guess we never really did either. And now, as a mom myself, I too would rather focus on my kids' birthdays than my own. To make theirs the most exciting and important day of the year for them. Planning parties, buying gifts, decorating, pampering each of them on their special day.

As I'm sure they'll do for their own kids someday.

This post was written as a submission for the Mothers and Daughters Blog Carnival.