This birthday was bittersweet for me, as it was my first annual celebration away from my family in Maryland. No matter how old we “kids” are, we always gather together for dinner, cake and singing, “Happy Happy to You.” (My son has changed the way the song goes–and we like it).

On the morning of my birthday, I was of course missing my parents and siblings for this reason. My sister had written me an email, recommending, “do things today that make you happy and makes your heart smile and shine for the world to see!” That lifted my spirits, and I did enjoy a beautiful birthday in Grecia, with my own little family unit around me.

I woke up to sounds of fun, coming from the kitchen. My early-to-rise son was making me some delicious juice, with the assistance of his father. This was his first time using our new Omega juicer. I have a feeling we will be hearing a request of “make the juice!?” on a regular basis. (Notice the big boy batman underwear).

We decided to stay close to home, in case my husband happened to have a “work emergency.” I didn’t mind though. I really love just being with my family–and having my husband around for the extra help with the kids is priceless.

I informed him on the bus ride down to Grecia center that he had to follow me wherever I wanted to go–pet stores, ice cream shops, shoe stores–without one word of resistance. Muahaha.

I wish I could “inform” my three year old that he wasn’t allowed to show any “resistance” either. He didn’t get the memo, and we ended up in the central park, which had a Saturday fiesta going on.

Bouncy houses, fire engines, balloons–Oh my–this was turning out to be a great birthday for a preschooler! Of course, seeing him happy truly made the afternoon all that more delightful.

Unfortunately, we had to pull him away from the fun eventually, and so began a serious meltdown. He was hot and exhausted, and nothing could calm him down…. until a store owner came out to the street to give him a toy car.

This is such a wonderful place to raise children. Little ones are absolutely adored here, and instances like this occur all the time.

Even though he was nicely pacified with his new toy, we decided not to attempt a sit-down lunch. My husband took our tired boy home, and I stayed back in town to relax over a quiet meal just with my baby girl.

While I ate and people-watched at my favorite pizza joint in town (Mundo Pizza–same chef as Olivos), my sweetheart snoozed against me in the carrier. This was a rare occurrence! I relished it.

While I slowly sliced away at my simple margarita personal pizza, I listened as a trio of lively ladies sent echos of laughter through the restaurant.

They were sitting near the entrance, stirring their ice teas and calling to friends who passed on the street. Several people stopped to kiss these ladies’ cheeks and add their own bright smiles to my reality show.

While I waited in line for the bus to take me home, the sun disappeared and it started to rain. In Costa Rica, when it starts to rain, you’d better take cover quick, because it can POUR. I insisted on keeping my place in the back of the line, against the wishes of many fellow riders headed for El Cajon.

The lady in front of me opened her umbrella, and sheltered the baby and I from the rain, letting her own beautiful hair get wet. Inside the bus, my animated daughter blew “raspberries” back and forth to the woman next to me for most of the twenty-five minute ride.

I recognized a few ladies around me, who happen to share the same bus stop. We chatted while we held our groceries and babies, and helped each other carry our combined possessions off the bus. Getting to know the warm people who live around us gives me a real sense of belonging here.

When I turned off the street onto my own driveway, I was greeted by our “other half,” swinging on our new basket chairs. They had been working on a special card, made just for me. I also opened a gift that my husband had been hiding from me for weeks–a gorgeous set of unique bowls.

We decided to take a walk up the street, since we had about an hour before the darkness rolled in. This is my favorite part of the day, when the colors of sunset paint the sky.

We slowly walked up the hill to El Cajon arriba, just up-up-up for a few kilometers. Our dog accompanied us, and even though she has recently given birth, and could not possibly be in heat, she still managed to gather a lot of attention from the male dogs around.

We were walking with three to five stragglers at any given time, and one yellow lab in particular could not be shaken. He would not leave her alone the entire walk, and every time we tried to shoo him away, he’d lie down and give us this look… you know, like the cat in Shrek does:

My husband was nice enough to carry both kids for most of the walk. I was able to weightlessly attack the inclined hill with enough air in my lungs to greet our many neighbors–people and animals alike. It was a lovely way to enjoy the last waking hours of my birthday.

Written by Emily Shea of TravelMother.com. “When my husband and I decided to become parents, we strongly agreed that having children would NOT slow us down! We would continue to feed our huger for traveling, participate in outdoor explorations, and maintain our individual hobbies and lifestyle with the babies in tow, or more likely, in the carrier.”

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.