You know what’s crazy? I’ll tell you what’s crazy™
Birthdays.
You have one every 365 days.
That’s like an epiphany in the white house.
Your birthday is a day to stop and reflect.
It is a day that brings a myriad of thoughts and emotions.
A part of me is a birthday child, sitting in a high chair, wearing a pointy hat with a rubber band under my chin.
Part of me has a toot toot horn in my mouth and a big numeric candle on a Mickey Mouse Cake.
This birthday boy is a child, wide eyed, ripping open presents. This part of my birthday self is tearing bows off wrapping paper to get to a new shiny Tonka truck.
But as the Earth circles the sun 50 plus times, the meaning of life changes.
It’s not about bows but about accomplishments.
It’s about satisfaction and fulfilment.
What have you done in those trips around the sun?
Have you lived a good life?
Have you been a good father, a good man?
Have you been selfless and conscientious?
Have you checked off the boxes you need to check off to bring peace to your soul?
I sit here on the front porch of another birthday and the sun is rising, bright and happy.
As I look out on my day, I see that I have a full array of possibilities.
I have already eaten birthday cake twice, and it’s only 9 am
Chocolate cake with M & M’s and Kit Kat Bars.
It’s a chocolate fortress of caloric delight.
I am relaxed. Chocolate cake will do that for a man.
The house is calm and the Christmas lights are still up.
I always leave Christmas lights up till the New Year.
What’s the rush to strip the house of the cheer and the color. The blahs of winter will be here soon enough.
December 29th.
My birthday has always been associated with Christmas lights and college football bowl games.
December 29th is always on Christmas break. Kids are always on vacation, and many families gone for the entire week.
Today the sky is dark and the rain poised to come down. There’s a nip in the air and New Years is knocking on the door.
That’s just how it is on December 29th. It comes with the angle of the Earth and its celestial position in the cosmos.
You can’t do much about that. It is what it is in the Northern Hemisphere.
December 29th. Four days after Christmas, 2 days before New Years.
To most of you, it’s just a day. A day to rest from what was, a day to prepare for what will be.
To me? Well, it’s my day. regardless of the weather, it’s a bright day. It’s a day filled with chocolate cake and M&M’s. It’s a day to reflect on the journey taken and think about the destination ahead.
There are still birthdays left, hopefully, to accomplish tasks not yet complete.
Happy Birthday to me. Happy New Years to everyone else.
Even though birthdays come once every 365 days, don’t think of them as a once a year after thought. Think of birthdays as an all year event.
If you treat every day like it was your birthday, then every day would be as special to you as it should be.
Life’s Crazy™