What did you do for your birthday? That question was asked several times of me today. I was glad to get to tell them my story.
We usually go out to eat on Birthdays. The celebrant has the responsibility to choose the location. I love to go to the Cheesecake Factory. They have my all time favorite dish, Bang-Bang Chicken and Shrimp. It is a Thai dish with coconut, spices and sautéed vegetables and the the aforementioned mentioned meats. It is delicious. Cindy and I always split it because it is huge. I usually wish for more when I am eating it, but by the time I tuck the cheesecake into the corners I am right at the edge of completely full.
We drove to Dallas to met our son there who was able to come straight from work. We had a long leisurely meal and stimulating conversation- a perfect evening. Then we strolled to the book store and walked and talked among the tomes (not tombs as some people think). We selected books based solely on their covers and flipped through the pages. We picked up books inspite of their covers. We laughed at the cultural trends of which I was unaware. A second great piece of my birthday celebration.
Then we needed to start home, but I had one more request. “Can we go see the leaning tower?” We had talked about it earlier in the week and I had shared the video of the failure of the building to collapse with my family. Then we had read that it was to be finished off by an old fashioned wrecking ball last Monday. Apparently, the building laughed at that suggestion and while the workers said it would be down by mid week, it was still standing on Thursday night.
We drove down to the area and piled into one car and then drove to find a spot to get out and see the tower. It was washed in a bright light. There were people all around. It was a party. It was icing on the cake of my celebration.
I’ve wondered why it has been so popular this week. Just search for it on social media. Why has failure made it so much more famous. The old building has stood there for years and I had never noticed it. Why now? Maybe, we all are drawn to things that so clearly reveal what we so often are trying to hide-that we are a real mess, that our lives really don’t look like our curated Instagram feeds. We wear sloppy sweats at home and our hair looks more like a porcupine in the middle of the road. We wake up in the morning struggling to get to the end of the day. We are rarely the person we hoped we would be.
Looking at the crowd, looking at the tower I kept thinking people were saying, “Yes, at my core is a crooked mess. All the trappings around it might hide it, but it is still lurking on the inside. It is resistant to change. It will be in me tomorrow.” If we can love that broken part, if we can love the inner revealed part, then people can really know unconditional and complete love.
I had a great birthday because the people that know me best still love me. They have seen my wobbly core and it has not frightened them away. Instead they come and cheer me on. That’s what it is like to be loved.