Friday, November 27, 2009

They Say It's Your Birthday

It's my birthday too!

Wow, so okay 28 years. 27 years and 46 weeks after I was diagnosed and a full 10 years longer than the projected life expectancy for CFers at that time. 17 years after I got my first horse for Christmas, 15 years after the first time someone I had a crush on kissed me (eep!), and 12 years after I first got my driver's license and started tearing up the streets of Colorado. 10 years after my senior prom and the year I left home to move across the country, and 7 years after my 21st birthday, which we won't even begin to discuss here (although I can't resist noting that it spanned two major US cities). 6 years since I graduated and left Atlanta for "The Big Apple" and 3 years since I graduated again and left law school for "The Real World." Nearly two years since I first heard the word "transplant" applied to my lungs and 1 year and 1 month since Sampson joined my family. In other words, 28 years full of crazy, chaotic, amazing, memorable, and sometimes just a little bit over-the-top experiences. And the only thing I have to say to all that is what I've already said: wow.

Birthdays are always amazing things, and while I don't mean to steal anyone else's thunder, I think they're even more special when you live with a chronic illness. It's such a cool tradition to celebrate life and the day that we came into this world, and of course this year I feel like it's even more significant somehow. The truth is, though, that it's not just the 27th of November that's worth celebrating -- all those plain old regular days that make up the rest of life are pretty damn amazing too, when you stop to think about it.

Hopefully at some point during this 28th year (most likely on one of those plain days that happens to fall in between the birthdays) I'll get a call for a kind of "rebirthday" that I know will change my life in some new and surprising and hopefully wonderful ways. I'm so grateful for the past, but I'm also really looking forward to the many things I plan to add to that list of "lifetime milestones" with my new lungs. Every day of every year, for hopefully a long time to come.

So happy birthday to my awesome body for sticking with me through all the nonsense, and happy birthday to my mind for not giving up and going wholly crazy through the madness. Most of all happy birthday to my spirit, for proving itself this year to be just about the most resilient thing since the Timex watch ("takes a licking . . . "). I can't wait to push the envelope even further and see what new ways we can come up with to get into trouble together -- and with 365 opportunities a year, I expect some pretty amazing things.

Okay so how many days is it until your birthday, and how are you going to celebrate?

13 comments:

  1. No joke I have like 20 friends who share your birthday. Are you guys Valentine's Day babies or something? ;)

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

    I hope you have a wonderful new year of life :)

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  2. Happy Birthday, Piper! It is such a pleasure to read your blog and to witness your incredibly inspiring and uplifting outlook.

    I am so glad we have reconnected and I hope we will have the opportunity to really catch up (we have two decades to talk about, after all).

    Have a wonderful, wonderful day!

    Laurie Nichols

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  3. Hi Piper,

    I have been lurking around your blog for quite awhile. Your writing ability is powerful and yours is the first blog I look for when the computer gets switched on. I was drawn here because my 3 year old has cf and your wisdom, courage and humour teach me a lot. Mostly, I wanted to say Happy Birthday... it is my birthday today too! I'm thrilled to share this day with you.

    Jane

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  4. HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! <3

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  5. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Here's to a wonderful new 29th year filled with a new life, and new lungs!

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  6. Happy Birthday! I hope you have had a wonderful day! I know that reading your posts always make my day..

    My birthday is in 10 days (38..yikes!) and I will celebrate with my daughter at Disney World.

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  7. Hope you had a wonderful day yesterday! Happy Birthday!
    Sarah (Lilismom)

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  8. Happy BIRTHDAY!

    I know you will have a great day. Very cool blog post and a way of looking at things, I will have to do this in 53 days when it's my birthday!

    For celebrating I am hoping to do a weekend away somewhere simple since I will be turning 30--yikes.

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  9. Congatulations Piper!
    I hope you've had a lovely day, you really deserve that!

    Love, Marjolein

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  10. Yay Piper ! I couldn't agree with you more !!! You and Shawn share this special day in a special way!!
    Happy Birthday to the beautiful woman you have grown into and to the kick ass chick you are today!

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  11. Belated Birthday Wishes Piper! And I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving as well.

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