Friday, July 07, 2006

35 -- Here am I

Once upon a time, more specifically, on July 7, 1971, a baby girl was born , much loved and wanted (you can read a bit more about how/where she was born here), and, as fate would have it, she would one day write a blog so you'd know quite a bit about her :)
This little girl grew up in Brazil, where she loved to eat biscoitos de polvilho (melt-in your mouth baked treats made of manioc starch, eggs, milk, and salt) , as well as spend time close to nature in the countryside. She still enjoys these things, although she can hardly ever eat her favorite snack now that she lives in the United States :)












When this baby girl grew up, she got married and decided to have babies too. She kind of wanted a girl, but her first baby was a beautiful boy:
And the second one too :)
She thinks that these two sons are the best present she could ever get in the world and that her life is perfect because of them.

She's never been bothered about telling people her age. At first, there was an earnest desire to grow older which motivated her to start saying her new age a few months before July. This didn't change after the 20s, or 30s, though, and she's cheerfully looking forward to her 40s, 50s, 60s...

Except for one little detail. Everyone says that after 35 it's not very good for women to have babies anymore, and she thinks this is not fair - she might want another one, but this decision depends on many factors (husband or herself or both finding a job, the family settling down somewhere and having a more foreseeable future) which will take a few years to resolve. That's the only reason why this particular birthday is not as happy as all others have been in her life.

One thing hasn't changed much, though – she has always enjoyed writing (even before she properly knew how to write).Now she generally doesn't use a pen and paper anymore, but a computer keyboad and an internet connection, so she can get other people like you to read some of her thoughts :)


Well, I'd invite you to my party, but I think most of you are too far away to be able to come. We won't have biscoitos de polvilho, but the next best thing, pão de queijo (cheese rolls, or bread, made from the same ingredients plus cheese), which is also one of my favorite things (you can even order a pre-made mix online here, at Chebe bread - though I haven't tried this brand yet).

I'll post pictures of the party later, OK?

17 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday, Lilian!

    And I think lots of women are having babies after age 35, so you've still got a few more years to think about it.

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  2. Happy Birthday! These pictures are adorable :) I agree with Sandra that you still have a lot of time left to have babies! :)

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  3. Happy Birthday! Loved seeing your baby pictures...

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  4. Happy birthday. How did I get here? Isn't google amazing! Here is my word of encouragement to you and your husband. My wife lived in Brazil for a couple of years, and we had babies when she was 39 and 42. We are both political science Ph.D.s. She goes up for tenure this fall. I am on the job market. A precarious life. We may stay in academia, we may leave; we may move, we may not. You cannot tell which of "many factors" will be best for you. I recently told a true story about my dad, born in Latvia in 1936, with this line: WWII has been good to us. That is another story, indeed; but you see how these things don't play out they way you expect always. But I know what is most precious. Julius and Seraphina are doing very well. I say, never mind the "many factors," and do it now! (Oh wow, that was awfully sentimental for this time of morning!) All the best.

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  5. Dear Lilian

    Happy Birthday! Have a great day.

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  6. Happy birthday, Lillian! *big birthday hug* You were such a cute little kid! ^_^
    You'll be seeing a similar post from me in a few week.

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  7. Happy Birthday! It is also my younger daughter's third b-day today...I appreciated reading about a woman who celebrated each new year and whatever it could bring. The 35 seems pretty arbitrary to me, but that could just be because my mother had my brother and I post-35 and my 40 year old sister has had two children in the past five years herself. Best wishes to you today.

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  8. Happy birthday, a couple days late.

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  9. I'm such a terrible SIL for not calling! I'm so embarrassed! Kley reminded me yesterday of your birthday and I made a mental note to myself to call you, but as you can tell, that note got buried beneath a bunch of junk, and I forgot. Well, here in Texas it's still your birthday, so happy birthday, and please forgive my delinquence. Love you! Oh, and cute pictures, I especially love the one of you "writing!"

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  10. Happy birthday, Lilian! Yesterday was a big day for both of us, wasn't it? I'm glad we "shared" it in that sense.

    My mom had me at 36, and look how I turned out. Wait, maybe that's not reassuring! :)

    Pistola is also a Cancer, BTW. We're going to Hometown to do a birthday party with our families. I figure this is the last time we'll do one with them, since we'll be living further away and she'll be old enough to have parties with her little friends. Hope you had a great day and a wonderful party!

    PS: You are very pretty. You look like I envisioned you, too. :)

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  11. Parabens atrasado!!! Muita paz, saude e que vc seja muito feliz sempre!!


    Beijao

    Dani Zubiaga

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  12. Super happy birthday Lilian! Great pictures and posting as usual! and thanks for the lovely comments on my recent posts...FYI I just turned 36 nd had my second boy, it was a flawless pregnancy and an amazingly easy birth..and I know plenty of women who had healthy babaies at 37, 38, 39...so, do not despair! Wishing you lots of joy and answers on this special birthday!

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  13. Happy Birthday Lilian!! I love all your pictures. Thanks for sharing your life with us! You were a cutie pie baby and your babies are adorable too!

    And Hey, I could come to your party, I'm not that far away!!! ;)

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  14. Feliz aniversario querida.
    Fui mae pela primeria vez, quando tinha 35 anos e o segundo filho veio com 36. Cresceram, sao lindos, inteligentes e sadios e estao aí pra contar a historia. Ah..quando eles nasceram, o meu marido ainda era estudante, nao tinhamos tanta grana, mas com amor e fe no futuro superamos tudo.
    Bjos,
    ME

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  15. Parabéns!! Feliz aniversário!

    PS: just so you know, my blog address changed. It's now www.ahclm.blogspot.com

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