June Birthdays

By Nancy B. Gibbs

As I look back over the last 48 years, I have so many precious memories. The joy I felt when the twins were born was amazing. The day we left the hospital, I had no idea what I was going to do with them. I was just a child myself.

The biggest struggle was trying to keep up with who was who. As you can guess they were identical - and weighed the exact same, to the ounce, a week or two later.

But I had a plan and it worked until they were old enough to tell me their names. Many parents looked forward to teeth appearing and their baby walking. I looked forward to mine knowing their names.

Five years later, Becky (Brad and Chad’s little sister) was born. When asked how she knew that Brad was Brad, she would say, “because he’s not Chad.” That made sense to me.

She never got it wrong. So luckily somebody in the family could straighten everybody else out when they got their names wrong. And believe me, she did.

Somehow today I’m a little sad but also a lot happy. I miss having cake and ice cream with them. I miss the birthday hugs. But I’m so happy they all have families who dote over them.

Life is so very strange. Changes happen gradually and I worry that, at times, I might not have appreciated the moment I was in enough.

I sometimes wish I could go back and make another Fred Flintstone or Care Bear birthday cake. But in reality, I wouldn’t want to change one thing about who any of my children have become. All three are great parents for my grandchildren. They made me Nana and Roy Pa.

We’ve had our twists and turns over the years but on ordinary days, I’m happy as can be.

So please just give me 2 days a year (June 12th and June 27th) to miss life as it once was. God knows my little heartache this morning and He cares deeply about me. And He understands.

Hopefully, there will be many more memories down the road that will overshadow the days that that I find I truly miss yesterday.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I love all my June birthday children and I miss being there with them to celebrate. Happy Birthday and may God continue to bless you all for many more years to come. When God gave me y’all, He gave me the best birthday presents ever.