Celebrating Getting To Stay

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“The capacity to learn is a gift; The ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.” – Brian Herbert

I have two young kids with summer birthdays so I’m well steeped in the high expectations that come with celebrating our entry to this life – gifts, parties, songs, cakes. They are just so darn proud of all the growing up they are doing.

I get it because I’m so proud of them too. The expanded perspectives, vocabulary, abilities, smarts, empathy, and maturity are incredible to watch bloom.

But at some point it switches, doesn’t it?

It goes from birthdays being all about being celebrated for showing up and turns into celebrating that we get to stay. At least, that’s the way that it feels to me as I turn 56 years old today.

I am so grateful that I get to be here to love not only my two beautiful kids but also everyone I can. Sure, there are some people and things that challenge my “love wins” perspective but with each year, I understand more that life doesn’t come wrapped in neat packaging. Also, that there is much to learn when uncovering each unexpected “gift” and all I need to do is find the next right thing to do.

So as I unwrap this year, I try to remember to be proud that somewhere along the way I’ve grown into me. My stubbornness has mellowed into tenacious resilience. My faith has evened out the lows and added gratitude to the highs. I’m so delighted that I’ve gotten to stay another year.

Here’s to the next. Thanks for riding along with me!

P.S. I’m writing this while drinking a cup of tea from the Book of Tea. A perfect gift from my co-host Vicki Atkinson of the Sharing the Heart of the Matter books and authors podcast! Thank you, dear Vicki!

(featured photo is mine of my children)

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

I host the How to Share podcast, a podcast about how to share anything – to the appropriate audience, with the right permissions, at the most opportune time.

I also co-host the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast, an author, creator and storytelling podcast with the amazing Vicki Atkinson.

91 thoughts on “Celebrating Getting To Stay”

  1. Happy, Happy Birthday my dear Wynne! I love these words in your post …”stubbornness has mellowed into tenacious resilience…” There’s nothing better than a terrific reflective moment when birthdays roll around. So good. I’m cheers-ing to you with a cuppa of my own. xoxo! 🥰💕🥰

    Liked by 6 people

  3. Happy Birthday! Each year brings something new and unique. Your quote about learning, it harkens back to your story last week about Mr. D and his experience of loss. As we age, we must remember to be WILLING to learn and sometimes that is hard considering all of the change that is going on around us. Enjoy your day and have a fabulous week.

    Liked by 4 people

  4. Happy birthday, Wynne. Yes, time’s passage changes life, if we are lucky, to recognizing the gift of it. And the responsibility to repair the world. As you say, to do the next right thing. Have a great day!

    Liked by 4 people

  5. Happy Birthday Wynne! . . . 56 . . . I can’t remember back that far 😊

    Hope it’s an extra-special day for you an your two younguns.

    Keep Looking Up ^ . . . His Best is Yet to Come!

    Liked by 3 people

  7. Happy birthday, Wynne. I always smile at the American ‘gotten’ – a word foreign to my English vocabulary. Thus I pause at your ‘I’m so delighted that I’ve gotten to stay another year’, and share your gratitude, recognising that we can’t take it for granted.

    Liked by 3 people

      1. Hmmm… managed to stay… succeeded in staying… been allowed to stay… been granted the privilege of staying… but I understand that they don’t mean quite the same… ‘got to stay’ sounds like you’ve been forced into it!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Oh, I love your alternatives. You Brits know how to make everything sound more elegant! “Been granted the privilege of staying” sounds like what I was going for. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Happy Birthday, Wynne!

    I read something from the writer Suleika Jaoud that resonated with me and it might you, as you celebrate another year. Suleika flipped the idea of celebrating every day as if it was your last and suggested celebrating every day as if it were your first, like children do. I like that perspective.

    Liked by 4 people

  13. Happy Birthday! Love the thought of acknowledging our gratitude for another year of life. As we get older, our perspectives change, hopefully becoming less about ourselves and more about other people. You’re modeling this for so many!

    Liked by 3 people

  15. Happy Happy Birthday, Wynne. Summer birthdays are so much fun and the mess can be outside!! Celebrate getting to stay with grace and in style. (and enjoy that tea)

    Liked by 2 people

  16. Gosh darn-it, why doesn’t life come in neat packaging??? Ha, ha. And I love how you describe birthdays going from showing up to celebrating getting to stay. Ha, ha. It is funny how that works. So happy for you Wynne. Hope you have a Happy Birthday and a wonderful year ahead!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Ah, thank you, my friend! It is funny how it all works — and gives us so much to write about! 🙂 Thank you for the birthday wishes. Here’s to a great year ahead for all!

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Happy Birthday to you Wynne!! 🎶🎁🎂💞 I’m so glad you get to stay, it’s wonderful having you around and reading your intuitive, educational, joy-filled blog!!

    Liked by 2 people

  18. Happy, happy birthday, Wynne, you young’un you! I’m sure your kids know how to make your day a special one. You’re right that it’s a gift to be alive. I’m not sure if enough people take the time to think about it that way. Enjoy your day!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thank you, Jane! You are right – my kids do know how to make it special. It started when they made me breakfast — there was a lot of urgent whispering coming from the kitchen that I was told to ignore. 🙂 A gift in so many ways!

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Happy birthday, Wynne! You are one of the most kind and compassionate people I’ve met through blogging.

    Age is the funniest of concepts. When we’re kids, we spend years fantasizing about becoming older and having more privileges. Then, things flip at some point and we reminisce about the past. One good part of getting older is I think we develop a greater appreciation for the small pleasures of life and learn to take nothing for granted.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. So wisely said, Pete! Thank you for the incredible compliment – especially coming from you, dear Pete!! I’m so grateful to have crossed paths with you in this WP community. Isn’t life grand?

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Oh happiest of birthdays, Wynne! 💕 Wishing you a joyous, fun, adventure-filled, healthy, successful year that is full of love and light.

    Liked by 2 people

  27. a very happy birthday to you, wynne! I love that phrase, ‘celebrating getting to stay.’ yes, that’s exactly what it moves into over time, with love and experience, and gratitude. you’ve done the work and lived your life, and here you are, and I’m glad you stayed. I love that picture of your two beautiful children who are also glad you stayed, they are your legacy and one day they will be your legacy, proof that you were here, and that you have stayed. ❤

    Liked by 2 people

  28. It’s funny I just referenced to you about having a summer birthday; I didn’t realize yours would happen the next day!! Happy birthday, Wynne! I just feel the gratitude and peace pouring out of you. I agree with Beth that “celebrating getting to stay” is a wonderful way to capture birthday feelings as we get older. I hope it was a perfect day. 💕

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I swear your intuition is tuned in at a higher vibration, Melanie! Thank you for feeling my gratitude and peace. I’m so grateful — so glad our paths crossed here on WP, my friend!

      Liked by 1 person

  30. “My faith has evened out the lows and added gratitude to the highs. I’m so delighted that I’ve gotten to stay another year.” I love these lines, Wynne! Happy, Happy Birthday! The idea of “getting to stay” when celebrating another year of life is such a great perspective. Many dread their birthdays, but I’ve always been grateful to have the chance to celebrate another year. Life is too precious and not guaranteed. Beautiful photo of your children too! And Oh, to be 56 again! LOL 🎉🎂💞

    Liked by 1 person

  35. Happy Birthday, Wynne! Here’s to another beautiful year spent doing what you love and enjoying your precious children. You are so right—the gift of life is our best present! 🥰🥰🥰

    Liked by 2 people

  37. happy birthday, Wynne: my grand-daughter Grace turns 21 today; we were with her during much of her early years; she has enriched our lives, and I know she loves us. She spent the weekend with me down from Brisbane; happy 21 Grace; and happy 56 Wynne 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

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