29....Again!

29....again! Ok, so I can't get away with the 29 anymore, but I'm thinking 33 is the new 29! It isn't as old as I once thought. I have learned so much about myself over the years. One thing I've learned is that the older I get, the more chocolate I need! Ha! I've also learned the meaning of family traditions.

Brad and I had been married for about 10 years (14 years now) when I finally broke down and told him it was high time he either get a cake, or make one for my birthday. I really wasn't a huge fan of chocolate when I was kid, but now it is a food group! It must be a hormonal thing that comes with age. Anyway, Brad has either bought a chocolate cake or made one every year since I threw my little fit. So far, my favorite cakes include the Dora the Explorer cake Jayce chose a few years back, the homemade non-dairy cake (for Lakyn's sake) Brad made last year with the single match stuck in the middle and my Moma's chocolate cake.

I remember getting off the old, rickety country school bus and running as fast as I could up the gravel driveway to beat my other four siblings to the back door. I ran especially fast on my birthday. There would always be a homemade chocolate cake waiting in its 9X13 pan on the kitchen counter. If there was a chocolate cake in the house, it was someone's birthday! After our mother prepared a favorite birthday meal (mine was always tacos), it would be time for cake and presents. There was no need to invite other kids because we had a house full of kids between my Mom's three and my stepdad's two. It was a chaotic household, but a fun one. Moma would lite the candles while everyone joined in for the birthday song. Tom would give us the birthday spanking with always "one to grow on." It wasn't the chocolate cake I longed for, but for the family centered around me in celebration. So, now I must have a chocolate cake on my birthday because it is family tradition. It takes me back to my childhood every time, and makes me feel like a kid again.

The family tradition is carried on by my husband and precious children. I'm thankful to the good Lord for allowing another birthday to come my way. I'm thankful for my husband, my children, my family, my friends, and for MY chocolate cake! Oh, I'm the 2nd kid from the left in the photo.