I felt loved on my 43rd birthday. I was surprised my friends brought balloons and presents to my two Zumba classes that morning. In the afternoon several of my church friends took me to lunch at Yi Cafe in the Shangri-La. They all signed a Shanghai coffee-table book for me. Heidi Miller brought lemon cupcakes to share and made me a carrot cake to take home. Kevin, our driver, bought me a chocolate cake. I didn’t want any presents from John since I'm making a list of things I want to buy for our new house in Michigan.
My 8:45am Zumba class
My 10:00am Zumba class
My friends from church that organized the balloons
Yi Cafe
Cake from Kevin (Eliza was at gymnastics)
Cake from Heidi
That Friday night we went to the Shanghai Sharks last home game to watch Jimmer play. As usual, he scored around 40 points and was the top scorer. It looks like he might sign on to play with them again next year! Our branch made up a large cheering section with over 100 of us there.
Saturday night John and I went to Nene (a small Italian restaurant in Puxi) to celebrate Valentine's day and my birthday.
At my birthday the luncheon, Elizabeth read me letters from John and the kids:
John
I wanted to share a few things about Laurel that capture a glimpse of
who she is. It was easy to come up with superlative adjectives that she
epitomizes: brilliant, quick, beautiful, insightful, loyal, hard-working,
faithful, strong, consistent, unerring.
But I also wanted to go deeper on some of the characteristics that
really set her apart. I could go on for a long time about her, but for this
time I will limit myself to the following four.
You should come to Laurel if:
1. If you need someone who can listen, relate, understand what you
are feeling.
In fact, she frequently has people tell her things about their
past that they have shared with almost nobody else.
2. If you need someone who can see the reality of a situation clearly
and give you honest, insightful feedback on what to do.
In fact, It comes so naturally to her that it is hard for her to
understand why it is not completely obvious to everyone
else.
3. If you need someone you can rely on, to do what has to be done,
when it needs to be done.
In fact, she usually does things immediately even if they
don't need to be done for quite some time. She is the
opposite of a procrastinator.
4. If you need someone with great faith, who has seen the hand of
the Lord in her life, and is 110% committed to live by the gospel.
In fact, it is hard for her to even comprehend how someone
can believe but not live by the standards.
So look for Laurel if you need someone who can listen, see clearly,
someone reliable, or someone completely faithful.
Laurel is my anchor, my rudder, my mast and sail. I would not and could
not navigate and sail through this life without her. Happy birthday, love
of my life!
John
The kids
“I am so beyond grateful for you and for everything you do. You are always there for me to talk to, and you sacrifice so much for me and the rest of the family—we could not function without you!! I am so inspired by your faith and selflessness and example, and the stories about your mission are a huge part of the reason I want to serve a mission!! I miss you a lot here, so I am so glad you’re the easiest one in the family to get ahold of. Thank you for everything you do and for all the support you show me constantly. I love you so much, mom. I hope you have the most wonderful birthday and know that I’m thinking of you and wishing I could be there with you!! Love, Emma."
“MOMMY!!!! I love you so freaking much. You are my favorite person in the world, and I love that you help out with play practice and always handle my shenanigans so well. Today is the magic 43, and you better live it up. You are so smart and organized and funny and loving and you always know how to cheer me up or bring me back down to earth. I hope you have a spectacular birthday that rains happiness down on the entire universe. You are an awesome woman. I love you. Your son, James."
"Happy birthday! You are such an inspiration to me. You’re so talented, especially at Zumba and the amount of perseverance you have is amazing. You are amazing helping at the school and in the musical. Thanks for being such a great mom! Hope you have an awesome day!" -Eliza
