Egg Decorating and Birthday Cake

Falling when it does, my birthday is frequently either caught up in, or overshadowed by, Easter celebrations and observances. (I guess it’s technically Pascha now, but oh well.) I prefer it when it comes the week after, so that we don’t have to worry about the usual Lenten restrictions on diet and alcohol consumption. We can celebrate in grand fashion, and it’s appropriate to that joyous time. A birthday on Holy Thursday can be fine, as that’s an important and auspicious day — the Institution of the Priesthood; the beginning of the solemn Holy Week observances. A birthday on Good Friday is the worst. There can be no thought of celebrating then. It would be entirely inappropriate. A birthday on Holy Saturday, as this one was, is odd. Mostly because it’s both a joyous and honored time, but one in which a birthday gets entirely overshadowed, and there is not much time to give it more than a passing acknowledgement.

I guess it’s worth considering why a 46 year old man should be so concerned with his own birthday. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m getting older. That doesn’t scare me much anymore. Maybe it has partly to do with the way the day is tied up with the holidays and family and traditions and the way we mark time.

When I look at these pictures from our Easters (and I have sets going back a long time) I can see my kids growing up; see the changes evident in our lives. Sometimes I like to measure how much time and attention we had in a given year based on how elaborate our decorations were, and the quality of our egg decorating. Mostly it just represents how much time I took to photograph the results. Sorry to say not much this year.

I was busy. It was only my second Orthodox Pascha, and because of the lockdown I was helping to stream all the major services at church. I spent only a few hours at home that day, long enough to color these eggs with the kids, eat a fine meal prepared by my lovely wife, and have a slice of birthday cake.

Kassi really went all out for me during the whole week, doing double duty around the house and cooking some fine meals to keep me going. I’m a very fortunate man.

I asked for a carrot cake this year, and she delivered in fine fashion. It’s my dad’s favorite variety, and mine, and now it’s our littlest one’s as well. Look at how much work she put into decorating it!

If I lived another 46 years I’d be way too old, I think. That’s hard to even imagine.

My wife puts so much love into everything she does, truly, and I love her for it. My cake was out-of-this-world good — deliciously spiced, the icing rich and creamy. I’m already looking forward to my next birthday.