Today was my youngest daughter's birthday. It was a day I was worried about because she is the biggest daddy's girl know to man. I knew she would be upset that daddy wasn't here to share it with her, so I wanted to do everything I could to make it a great birthday for her.
For starters, Ian was lucky enough to be able to call her this morning and tell her Happy Birthday. He also sent her a birthday present which she opened with him on the phone. It was really great to see and hear on my end. After that, I talked to Ian and heard the emotion there because he missed his family and is upset that he is missing his baby girl's birthday. I reassured him that I know it is hard but that we will get through it and that even though he isn't here, doing what he has done means the world to Natalie. After our phone call, we went to school and I had already made plans to have lunch with Natalie in her classroom so Natalie could Skype Ian. An awesome friend of mine helped me out by going to pick up lunch for Natalie and me since I only had 30 min for lunch, I didn't have enough time to go get lunch and then eat it with her.
Our lunch turned out to be the coolest thing for her birthday. She loved having lunch in her classroom and being able to act all goofy with her daddy. Ian also requested that she gets to have a cupcake with her, so he sang "Happy Birthday" to her again. It really made her birthday special. After school we came home and relaxed for a little bit. Then I went and dropped off the other two kids at my friend's house so Natalie could have a special night out with me. We went shopping for a new outfit for her and then went to dinner. We ended up going to Cracker Barrel and I got her a stuffed animal as part of her birthday presents. When we sat down for dinner, I told the waitress that it was Natalie's birthday so they could sing to her. Then Natalie told me how great her day has been and we talked about how cool it was that she was able to Skype with daddy during lunch. Then our meal came and we ate and continued to talk about whatever goofy thing Natalie came up with. After dinner, I ordered dessert and then they brought out my dessert and Natalie's birthday dessert and sang to her. Then the waitress brought out the check. She told me that only my dessert was on there, and I thought she meant that out of our two desserts, I only needed to pay for mine. She then told me that someone paid for our dinner. I asked who and she said she didn't know and they didn't leave a note or anything. I was shocked! I couldn't believe that someone would do that for me. I literally cried in the middle of the restaurant. It was the most amazing thing and yet, I couldn't thank anyone. I don't know what made them do it, but I appreciate it all the same.
This was the pick-me-up kind of day I have needed since Ian left. It has been hard for me for some reason or another, and I haven't been able to get out of my funk. Today, though, was a great day all around. I still miss my husband, but I have felt as close to him as I can be under the circumstances. I have been worried about the birthday today not being as "happy" as I wanted it to be, yet it turned out the be so much better than I ever thought it could be, not just for Natalie but for me too. I am so thankful for this day that I have been given.
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