Another birthday? I’ll take it

February is the month I celebrate my birthday. Rather than just seeing it as another year older, I prefer to think of my birthday as a gift of another 12 months.

It has been a gift of 12 more months to watch my grandchildren grow and develop, to become closer friends with my adult children, to appreciate time with old friends and delight in the new ones.

And I’m always honored to be invited to walk, for a short time, beside the men and women who come to my office, usually stuck in a life situation they are having difficulty working through. I want them to know it isn’t about whether they can trust another person; rather it is knowing they can trust themselves. And I have the pleasure of watching them develop, change and embrace life in a more fulfilling way as they choose to meet the challenges, not run from them.

I’ve had another 12 months to see that most of the time I love wisely and well. Of course, there are always disappointments and challenges, but at age 79, I know I can survive and learn from them.

Many people get bent out of shape about birthdays, but quite frankly, I see no point in it. So what if there are more wrinkles? If I take off my glasses, the lines immediately soften. If I can’t hear, I increase the volume of my hearing aids.

I hope there will come a day when those wrinkles will not matter as much as they sometimes still do and of course I’d rather they were not there, but I choose to trust people who say they love me, not a face without wrinkles, and I never want to forget that resiliency and a positive attitude are what helps me get through life, not the color of lipstick I wear.

Another birthday? I’ll take it. Charlotte Lankard is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice. Contact her at clankard@ oklahoman.com.