"Our" Birthday

Childhood playmate...

Lifetime Friend...

When you are a twin, you go through life saying "we" and "ours" rather than "mine" and "me." When our birthday approaches, I find myself feeling like it isn't a birthday at all if it isn't shared. Today I thought about my brother, my friend, and what a caring and sharing person he is and how he gives so freely of himself to even perfect strangers. And as I spent most of my day alone today, I thought about what a blessing it is to share our birthday. And what a blessing it is to be able to live even brief moments of life unselfishly. And when I think of the gift that is my brother, I realize that what we knew as children, was a subtle but important life lesson about what is most important in this life, and that is it's always better to share with others.

In this moment, at the end of another of "our" birthdays, I am so grateful for another year and I pray that opportunities will come for me to live unselfishly before my family and all whom the Lord would bring into my life.

The black and white photo is of Bob and I at our 7th birthday on an Uncle's farm in Iowa. Our Aunt Maisy had made us each our own birthday cake, his a buckin' cowboy, mine a fancy doll. We were so proud and so happy. I still remember the sticky meringue frosting she made. I also remember what a giving and serving kind of woman she was...I wanted to be just like her.