A Birthday Tradition Rooted in Love

It’s my birthday today. 🎉 And for my birthday, I wanted to share a tradition that I started with my mom years ago.

Since becoming a mom myself, 26 years ago now 🥲, I came to understand the importance of the day for the mother. Yes, the child was born, and it is a celebration of that, but it is also a celebration of that mom bringing life into this world. I understood so much more what that day meant once I became a mom myself.

So, for years now, on my birthday, I call my mother, and I ask her to tell me my birth story. I love listening to her retell it. And since going through the process myself 3 times now, I can relate to her telling me how painful it was or how she had to hold the back of the car seat on the way to the hospital because if she didn’t, I was coming out in the car! (Seriously, when you get that urge to push there’s not a whole lot you can do to stop it from happening! My mom is a warrior 😄) I love that this simple story can bring us closer together each year that she tells it to me ❤️

About 5 years ago, my beautiful and sweet mother-in-law upped my tradition without even realizing it 😄. For Christmas that year, she wrote out each of her boys’ birth stories and gave it to them as a Christmas gift. My husband loved the gift, but I think I was more excited about it than he was! I knew how special each of those days was for my mother-in-law and I thought it was the greatest gift! So much so that I asked my mother shortly after to write my birth story down for me but in her handwriting so that I could have it forever. I realized when my mother-in-law gave my husband that gift that he would have the story forever because it was written down and it would be passed down hopefully for generations within our family. I wanted that same thing for my birth story too. I also know that my mother will not always be a phone call away on my birthday to hear the story.

My mother-in-law passed away unexpectedly 3 years ago, and I can’t tell you how happy I am that she made that gift for her boys. I plan on writing my children’s birth stories down and giving it to them as well. Such a special gift.

And yes, on each of my children’s birthday, they get to hear their birth story from me. My son is never as into it as my daughters are 🙃, but he’s a good sport and he lets me do it anyway.

Birthdays are so much more than just celebrating another year of life—they're an opportunity to reflect on the love and sacrifice that brought us into this world. This tradition of sharing and preserving birth stories has deepened my connection with my mom, my mother-in-law, and now my own children. It’s a reminder that our stories matter, that the journey of motherhood is sacred, and that these memories deserve to be cherished and passed down. So today, as I celebrate my birthday, I’m filled with gratitude for the life my mom gave me, the legacy my mother-in-law left behind, and the chance to carry on this tradition with my own family. Maybe it’s a tradition you’ll want to start too—because every birthday is really a celebration of love. ❤️