If you’re reading this on Wednesday, October 23, 2019, and the Lord in his infinite wisdom grants me new mercies and allows me to see the day, then today is my 40th birthday.

I waffled back and forth about telling y’all how old I actually am, but most of you who read my blog are family, so you already knew.  Besides that, I went on vacation last week and nobody asked me for my ID , even when I ordered my fruity drinks.  (Thank God, since I lost my license right before I travelled.  But that’s another story for another day.)  Anyway, I’m old enough now not to have to lie about my age, and young enough that I don’t feel the need to lie about it either.

Anyway, for my birthday, I surprised my kiddos with a trip to Disney World.   Here are 5 takeaways from my vacation.

5.  My children are spoiled!  Some of you would say well-loved, and that is true.  But they are also spoiled.  The littlest Radford cries whenever she does not get her way, which is rare by the way.  The big one slept in a  queen size bed by herself, while the other two huddled up with mom and dad. We spoil them in different ways.  Dad buys them stuff.  Mom let’s them get away with minimal work.  It’s a bad situation, and still they are pretty good kids.

4) My family is perfectly fine eating the same things every day.  My dream vacation involves eating my way around the world, trying dishes I’ve never heard of, and authentic versions of meals I eat regularly.  That is not the case for my family.  They were quite happy to eat chicken wings, pizza, and burgers and fries every single day. I’m going to try to remember that the next time I feel bad for feeding them some variation of the same meal over and over.

3) This 40-year-old body is not the same as my 20-year old body.  Besides no longer being able to do the splits, I can’t eat whatever I want without consequence. I ate terribly while on vacation, and now I have 5 more pounds to lose, on top of the extra 15 I was already carrying.  My dream was to take a 40th birthday picture in a two piece bathing suit for the first time, but my tummy area is not where I want it to be yet.  Maybe next time.

2) It’s okay to take a vacation.  I haven’t been on vacation in six years.  I needed a break.  I took one, and hopefully I’ll be better as a result.

1) It only takes a little magic to make everything a lot better.  I am a firm believer in miracles.  I’ve seen too many in the last 40 years, not to believe.  But Magic isn’t about supernatural phenomena.  Magic is about changing the way others see the natural world.  Go out and create a little magic of your own today.  I certainly plan to do so.