29.

Yesterday, I celebrated 29 trips around the sun.  I'm super-stoked to be on my 30th.  I had some grand plan to share 29 somethings...29 pieces of advice for my daughters, 29 things I love, 29 things about me... And it just never happened, probably because I have about 29 distractions per hour.

I also can't get over the irony of being 29 pounds heavier than I was a few short years ago.  Eeek.  Perhaps it's not so much a problem as it is a challenge. A challenge that I'm up for--right after my coconut birthday cake is gone.

So. I found myself celebrating with my parents, husband and kiddos last night and in the midst of the fun, Bennett, with serious face, says "You're going to die".

An uncomfortable silence fell over the table as we all looked around--did she really just say that?

I think she picked up on our discomfort because she started getting very emotional--and her face turned very serious. Her lip quivered and she bawled as she followed her previous comment up with this:

"We're all gonna die".

Now I feel like I have to tell you that this child, who turned two last month, watches PBS Kids and a handful of Netflix shows, hand-picked by yours truly.  She's aware of the scene in Frozen where the parents are on the boat and die, but beyond this, has no knowledge of sayings like "You're going to die" or "We're all gonna die".

If you'd been there, you would've been a bit freaked out, too.

But we all ate cake anyhow, and big sis consoled little sis after her ominous outbursts.  There may have been more talk of death, and it may have been something like this, through the sobs, "But we're all gonna die tomorrow, sissuh [sister]."

And a particular passage Ecclesiastes came to mind, and I thought I'd share with you a bit of what is my favorite book of the Bible.

Ecclesiastes 7: 1-4

A good name is better than fine perfume,
    and the day of death better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
    than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
    the living should take this to heart.
3 Frustration is better than laughter,
    because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.


In the midst of our celebration of life, we were abruptly reminded that there's more in store for us--so much more than we could ever imagine.  The best days of our lives--days like these--can't even compare.