Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, it is official; I am now 33 years old, time sure flies. My dad asked me if I feel any older, and my answer like every year is no. I look in the mirror, and I know I look older; you know, a few more wrinkles here and a few more grays there, but my spirit feels the same. In fact, as I age my ability to see the young girls hidden in elderly ladies' aging bodies is becoming easier. I see past the gray hair, the stooped posture, the wrinkled faces, and the slowed movements, and I see the little girl running with abandon giggling wildly, the young teenage girl falling in love for the first time, the young bride excitedly taking her love's hand in hers pledging her love and devotion for eternity, the young mother holding her baby for the first time, the older mother filled with bittersweet feelings as she sends her children off into the world, the new grandmother filled with immense love as she holds her first grandchild, and the elderly woman wishing everyone could see past her appearance and see the true beauty she still possesses within, the spirit that has grown with wisdom but is still young and alive. I think as I age, I also realize how much we each need each other and the wisdom we each have to share. I also realize how important the advice was I received from my parents as I was growing up. They continually counseled me to work on my inner spirit, discover what I was passionate about, discover what made me who I am, develop my talents, set goals, get my education, and make sure that I had more to offer than mere beauty. My parents let me know that outer beauty fades over time, but not even time can take away your inner beauty. So, as another year has come and gone, I am grateful for my parents' wisdom and counsel; I am also grateful for the memories I have made, and the memories that are yet to come.

Here are just a few of the memories I have already made:

Today on Mama's blog, she posted this sweet and very biased tribute; it's not good manners to toot your own horn, but it is always okay if your mama does it, especially since everyone knows all mamas are biased (I especially like how my sweet and very biased mama inadvertently forgot to mention my growing collection of gray hair).

Happy Birthday Carrie!

written by: Jayne Bowers

Today is the birthday of my oldest child, Janna Caroline. 5’3”, eyes of blue, a dark cloud of lustrous, shiny hair framing her pretty face, she’s a young woman with many gifts.

Always perceptive even as a small child, Carrie has the ability to size up a person within a few minutes. I’m not talking about being judgmental but rather about getting a sense of the person’s personality and “spirit.” Can the person be trusted? Is he a bad guy…or gal? If you ever meet her and feel those pretty blues staring at you, watch out; she’s trying to “get your number.” At this moment, I’m looking at a pencil sketch of Carrie, Elizabeth, and me that hangs in my dining room. Carrie was 3 years old. I recall remarking to the woman who drew it that she looked so intense, and the artist declared, “That’s because she is.”

Carrie has a great personality, too. Extroverted and generally upbeat and smiling, she’s been a talker and charmer since Day 1. I recall many times on the beach when she’d wave to passers-by and then look at me with puzzlement if the strand walker didn’t wave back. At that time in her young life, it didn’t occur to her that perhaps the person hadn’t seen her. If Carrie saw him or her, she figured the person saw her. Piaget would describe that charming attribute as childhood egocentrism, not because she was stuck on herself but because she was unable to see things from another’s perspective. But I digress.

Here’s another example of her charm and friendliness. When she was 5 years old, the principal of her preschool stopped me one afternoon and said, “The best thing you can do for your little girl is to teach her that you need more than a pretty smile to get through life.” Thank you very much, Mrs. McBride, for your unsolicited advice!! Actually, smiling can give you a good start and open a lot of doors. Plus,a smile is sort of a universal language that’s understood everywhere. Of course, there are many different types of smiles, but that’s the topic for another day.

Carrie’s always been able to think through things, determine exactly what she wanted, and then go for it. After graduating from CCU, she moved to Georgetown and then on to Charleston. Why? Because of the adventure and because she had decided it was time to get married. She wasn’t going to settle for anything less than the best, and to her the best was an LDS young man with values like her own. In Charleston, there was a much better chance to find Prince Charming than in G’town. I’ve always thought it interesting that she and Rich moved to the same area at the same time. She met him at church one summer evening about nine years ago, and well, the rest is history.


Now the mother of Spencer, Braden, Brooke, and Emma, Carrie’s days are pretty full. She’s a loving wife and mother, faithful friend, gourmet cook, techno-savvy creator of DVDs, photographer, scrapbooker, teacher, dancer, homemaker, party planner, and decorator. You should see her apple green kitchen walls—very inspiring.