Choose You Blog

More birthdays.

Those are words I truly appreciate; I know all too well that every birthday is a gift.

So I take the American Cancer Society slogan seriously.

As a serious chocoholic, I’ve always taken my chocolate choices seriously too.

My 45^th birthday was the worst of my life—because fate brought me the wrong C-word—Cancer, not Cake.

Cancer became even worse when I read that sugar was bad for cancer patients.

I cut it out of my life completely.

Chocolate stocks plunged.  Sales of chocolate dropped to precipitous levels.  I refused to acknowledge the color brown.

I forbid my friends and family– and myself– from allowing myself even a bite, not even one minuscule chocolate chip, not even on my birthday.

I felt not only depressed—but deprived.

Cancer + chemo + no cake didn’t make for much of a celebration.

6 miserable months later, I  allowed moderation—-and chocolate—back into my life.  The whole world looked brighter; Chocolatiers all over the world could smile again, and so could I.

And I realized even a bite of birthday cake might have brought a morsel of joy at a time that I really needed it.

A few days ago another birthday rolled around.   Though I didn’t have an official birthday cake, there was no pity party—I spread out my birthday for almost a week,  enjoying time with friends and family.

I also didn’t forget about my Choose You commitment…..but, yes there was sugar involved.

Because that Unhappy birthday taught me lessons I’ve never forgotten.

I choose health, of course;  and I also know there are times it’s equally important to choose joy.

I also learned to celebrate—every birthday—because no matter how old you are,  being here is always worth celebrating.

And celebrating life—with or without chocolate—  is what More Birthdays are all about.

Darryle Pollack finds joy in chocolate celebrating the big and little things about life on her blog, I never signed up for this….