The Best Birthday Ever | #VlogMom

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On Monday, I turned 31. As I blew out the candles on my birthday cake, it was the first time I didn’t wish for anything. It was the very first time I decided to just say “thank you for everything so far.”

Since I can remember, I’ve had difficult birthdays. My parents tried to give me great birthday parties filled with family, friends and lots of attention. The problem is, attention makes me anxious. Judging from the picture above of me at age 4, even people singing Happy Birthday made me want to scream. My pre-teen and teenage years consisted of even more awkward birthday encounters, as they should when you’re an adolescent. My Sweet 16 was amazing, and overwhelming. Even my 21st birthday was put on hiatus because most of my friends were deployed at the time. I didn’t have my first legal drink until a few months later when they returned.

Fast forward to last year and my 30th birthday. I’d been home just a few weeks from deployment and all I wanted to do was appreciate life and this milestone birthday. And that’s what I did. I paid attention to the present. So this week’s VlogMom question came from me. I wanted to know the best birthday experience the moms have had in their life so far. And in my video, I share why I picked last year’s epic celebration.