It's my birthday.  It's my birthday! It's my birthday.

I have always loved my birthday - no matter the age I gain. Each year, I say thanks for what I have gained, along with the age. Every year, I am given the chance to become a better version of myself.

I look back at this past year as the year I understood myself to be capable.

I have always hypothesized that I was, and thought it even likely - but in my core, there was serious doubt. That doubt is dead now.

This year, I truly became a mother. (This is where I cringe and fear the wrath of 'real' mothers, i.e., females who have given birth to a human baby...but I forge ahead nonetheless.)

My movements are dictated by another's need. My mornings cut short, my nights extended, my meals interrupted, my pocketbook emptied.

I am repayed with unquestioned trust and unconditional love.

There are, of course, moments when I curse my path. They are the sad moments when I fail to recognize that gratitude is the only feeling I should know. When selfishness temporarily blurs my vision.

My role as this dog's 'mother' has given me purpose. Allowed my life to become truly about someone else. Allowed me to daily, hourly - dedicate myself to something other than....myself. And it is in this, that I have found actual happiness.

When she is anxious, I am anxious. When she is in physical pain, I feel something akin to physical pain myself. And when she is sleeping...when I am witness to her peace - that is the closest thing to peace I have known.

I don't want to freak out the world with my declaration; I only intend to state my truth. This undertaking has defined me in a way I couldn't have guessed, and will never regret. I am so grateful.