Today is a really important day. It is also a very difficult day. Life has a habit of being a confusing mess like this, and if I had a say in it I’d like it to be otherwise, but sadly I do not.

This is the short version:

I have this friend who, when she was twenty years old, was given a terrible diagnosis. She was told by doctors that she had five years to live. These are never hard numbers set in stone, but generally the events along the way tend to cut into the estimates instead of add to them.

But today is my friend’s twenty-sixth birthday. I am looking forward to celebrating her twenty-seventh.

She is an amazing person, born into the world full of life and drive and love and hope and a truly endless supply of sass. She has struggled so much, lost so much, survived more in her life than many others will ever face. It isn’t ever easy, and it is a testament to her spirit that she is here to mark this day. She hasn’t done it alone, of course. Family and friends and loved ones have been with her along the way to provide help and support, to add what they could of their strength to hers. But it is a testament to her character, her nature, that this wonderful person is so completely loved by so many.

This has been a hard week in a rough month, several months. Today, she is hurting. Life is not so simple, or kind, even when it should be.

But it is an important day, and one that will not go without recognition.
We celebrate birthdays to celebrate the person, to show our appreciation for the light they bring to our lives. We honor the challenges they have overcome, and to renew our commitment to being a part of the solution for whatever they may face next.

I love you, Alexis. I believe in you, cherish you, I am thankful for you. I will always support you and I will always be your friend.