Birthdays

It is when your loved ones celebrate their birthday without you,  year after year, living so far away from home converts to a gordian experience. The clock shows me it is 6PM over here =  1AM over there, in Israel...  my middle sister is now officialy one year older! congratulations! :) 
It is a custom in my family to stay awake until the clock hits midnight, the night before the actual "big day", to say "Mazal tov", make bless the "owner of the celebration" (ba'al hasimcha, in Hebrew) with many wishes for the coming year and in general, and hand she/he kisses. My sister will celebrate her birthday with our nuclear family in a restaurant gathering, as every year. They will enjoy a good meal and stories while sournding the table and will mention me. I will also think about them at some point during my daily activities. Living abroad is a sacrifice and I know it. I don't regret about the life I chose but rather so grateful to be able to follow my dream. However, birthdays are always hard! And mine is coming up soon..., again, far away from home, far away from my family.