How I Spent My 26th Birthday

I can't believe I'm already 26.

Honestly, I don't even know how to start this article. I lost my train of thoughts but all I can think of is to be grateful for the blessings God has given me.

I was once lost but he never left me. He saved me from harm. Since then, I never took my life for granted and he transformed me to be always grateful for everything.

May it be good or bad, I have learned to always look into other dimensions and find options to be grateful for. I believe that if you instill gratitude in your soul, satisfaction and contentment will follow. So then, happiness becomes very achievable too.

Gratitude. Happiness. Contentment.

The night before my birthday, I had a hard time sleeping. I guess it's because of the hall-full glass of caffeine I drank during dinner. Although I can sense that I felt a little bit of excitement not because of how my day would turn out or how many people will greet me. It's about a feeling of gratitude for myself, my family, and my friends.

The next morning.

I heard familiar indistinct voices, I know that I'm about to wake up because I'm starting to regain my consciousness. I was certain that it was my mother and father's voices talking about what food to cook on this day.

When I woke up, Sunny was sleeping next to my face. Her belly was almost kissing me. I share the same bed with my sister and Sunny's feet were kicking her face too.

Mama and papa greeted me happy birthday but not directly to me. They used Sunny as the bearer of the message. Funny how difficult it is for us to greet each other happy birthday. I don't know, we are not just used to it. We're shy.

I stayed in the bed for a while to check Bitcoin cash's price, noise.cash, read.cash, Shopee, and other online apps. I received a couple of greetings from my friends in telegram and a short post of a dear brother to me, @wrabbiter and also to those who greeted me through the comment section here and in noise.cash as well. Thank you so much.

Setting expectations for certain people.

When I opened my phone, I was expecting a greeting from some people I cherish. I expected my immediate relatives of course, my close friend, and my boyfriend.

I rarely open my Facebook account because as I said here or in noise.cash, the majority of the posts I'm seeing are too toxic. In fact, mom told me she posted on my timeline. That merely explains how inactive I am on that platform. I just couldn't feel the need to anyway.

Upon checking, my relatives of course greeted me but I was expecting from someone. My close friend and my boyfriend. Although the day is still long, I still waited until this moment.

Few moments after I took my breakfast, I got a direct message on messenger. It was from someone whom I cherish so dearly. A close friend from kindergarten up to now, a fellow Cancer and introvert. If you read my latest article, she also has dark sides and mostly cuts off contact with me. But I understand her. No hard feelings. I replied to her message and never got a reply back. See? Haha. That's why I love her so much.

Around 3 pm when I received a message from my boyfriend. I was expecting him to greet me early but still waited for his greeting. However, I must admit that I felt bad when he's one of the few people I expected to remember my special day. Yeah, I sounded like I'm attention-seeking but I believe it's valid to feel this. Haha. He explained to me why he greeted me late and I didn't mind it as long as he remembers it.

Birthday Voucher from Shopee.

The night before my birthday, my father told me to look for a circular saw because he wants to make a cabinet for the bedrooms. Our duraboxes are too old already so they need to be replaced as soon as possible.

So I browsed Shopee and luckily I found one that seems to be trustworthy. Upon checking for some vouchers, I was surprised when this voucher was available so I took the chance of using it. It was my first time using this voucher.

I didn't expect to receive material gifts. I gave a gift instead. Being alive is more than enough to be grateful for.

Lunch & Dinner time.

My papa anointed me on my forehead by the chicken's blood he killed for my birthday meal native chicken adobo and tinolang manok. This is one of his specialties. He cooks so well. I have eaten a lot of rice because it was so delicious.

Anointing on the forehead is a Filipino tradition that is a way of blessing the birthday celebrant and shoo bad luck. It also signifies sacrifice for prosperity and success.

Birthday Cake and Ice Cream.

When I was younger, I don't really look forward to celebrating my birthday. Since me and grandpa share a birthday celebration together, me on 8th and his on 9th, people would come over always to celebrate with us.

Memories start to kick in.

Fancy and creative birthday cakes were not really a trend before. As technology advances, no doubt that people would always venture to something new.

My birthday cakes were simple. I would actually feel embarrassed when people start to sing Happy Birthday, all eyes on me and then there's me standing awkwardly waiting for the song to be over so I can vanish.

Ice cream is one of my favorite desserts. My favorite flavor is cookies and cream. Growing up, cookies and cream set my standards. I have tried several brands of ice creams but so far, the best brand fore would be Temptations by Nestle.

Can someone suggest me another brand too so I can try it out?

It was just a simple and intimate celebration of my birthday. In fact, it's been a long time since I celebrated my birthday here. When I entered college, I spend my birthdays in our second home where my grandparents live.

I was 23 when darkness took over and almost controlled my life. Who would have thought that I will be blessed with 3 extra years or more to come feeling loved and forgiven by Him.

Thanks for reading.

Keep safe everyone. ❤