Milestones

My daughter learned how to walk in China. My son learned how to ride a bike in China. I got to celebrate my birthday in China.  In a million years did I think I'd ever be travel to China let alone live here? It's a milestone for me.

When I think of birthdays and turning older my how it's changed from when I was younger.  It's not about the gifts or the parties or the cake. Ok yes it can still be about the cake.  I had a delicious vanilla cake with purple frosting made by Chabad in Shanghai.  If you know me then you know how much I luv purple.

I have a cousin whose birthday is 1 year and 6 days after mine.  For 6 days every year we are the same exact age.  Every year we cherish this time; we call it our identical time.  I find it beyond amusing because we are very close but we are opposite in so many ways.  Growing up she was very quiet and reserved (still is) and I was the opposite.  She loved to read and I hated to read (as an adult I have grown to love reading).  My cousin is 5' feet tall and I am 5'9.  I lived in the Upper West Side, she lived in Alphabet City (the geographic opposite of the UWS).  Her first child was a girl and her second was a boy; my first child was a boy and my second a girl. These are just a few of the many opposites that we have found brought us closer together as young adults.  The 6 days every year we joke that we are finally the same and we can share our wisdom with each other because we are the same age.  I am really hoping she can share sage advice and warn me of the challenges to come.

I am thankful to have such an understanding cousin. Even though we have so many differences, we can still connect and empathize with each other.  She has shared much sage advice and support as we have entered adulthood and parenthood that I am grateful for our cousinship.  And as much as we reminisce of our families getting together and our mothers gabbing away and laughing and shopping when we were young and how we wish we had those days back (because we did not have the responsibilities today as grown-ups) I am happy we have each other to gab together. Not shop because I know, she still hates shopping.