Yesterday was my birthday. But, the celebration really began on Friday when a friend treated me to lunch and gave me a beautiful cross necklace she had made herself. After a more than satisfying Mexican meal, we walked across the street to a bakery that displayed elaborate cakes. My friend announced that I needed a birthday cupcake. I was amply full from lunch, but she insisted, so I went along with the program without too much of a fight. They said the strawberry one was really good, so I took their advice and left with my special birthday cupcake in the cutest little pink box you’ve ever seen.
The next day, Saturday, I met up with a couple of friends for a matinee at the movie theater. They greeted me with a little green box. This time it was red velvet. I told them I had just enjoyed a birthday cupcake the day before. Smiling I said, “Hey, this is a two-cupcake birthday!”
Sunday rolls around and I had plans to go to my first shrimp boil. They actually called it Frogmore stew, but I’m certain there were no frogs involved. I was the birthday girl, so I didn’t have to bring anything. But, there was salad, watermelon, and the tasty shrimp cooked with corn on the cob, red potatoes, and some kind of sausage. A group of us sat around the table savoring both food and fellowship. There were more presents, all so thoughtful. And then it was time for dessert. Home-made ice cream and, you guessed it . . . cupcakes!! I figured since this was going to be a 3-cupcake birthday, I might as well go for chocolate. I figured Daisy and me could always increase our walk time for this week to compensate.
My point in sharing this ‘3-cupcake tale’ has nothing to do with baked goods, birthday presents, or the fact that I am one year older. It has everything to do with the idea of being positioned to even receive three cupcakes from three different sources in the first place. It’s not to brag about what great friends I have, but more the fact that I have them.
You see, there was a time in my life where I was surrounded by people I would call friends, and yet nobody knew the real life struggles I was facing. It wasn’t until I slowly began to reach out and tell just a smidge of something real, that I discovered what true friendship really is . . . sharing life together. Real life. The good, the bad, and yes, sometimes, even the ugly.
Someone once said that a good friend doubles joys and cuts sorrows in half. I have found that to be true. And as thankful as I am for cupcakes and birthday gifts, it is my dear, sweet friends for whom I am most grateful. I guess my churchs’ motto really is true: together is better.
Here’s wishing you the sweetness of a 3-cupcake birthday sometime soon.
Your friend