birthdays

hi,
Birthdays always seem to sneak up on you. One minute you are gently rolling along at a certain age, then "BAM", you are one year older. You probably don't feel any different and you try to tell yourself 'it's just a number' but that doesn't seem to lessen the burden of the addition to your ticking metronome.

I like my birthday.

As a kid we always had small parties to celebrate. I got to invite 4 or 5 friends over for lunch (we walked home from school for lunch every day). My mother would make my favorite rolled party sandwiches, some with tuna, some with egg salad, little gherkin pickles in the middle. Store bought birthday cake with crappy, sugary icing, even though my mom could bake something better from scratch, it wasn't "special" if it didn't have fancy flowered icing on top. After lunch I got to open my presents from my friends and family. Sometimes I thought the presents were exactly what I wanted, other times not so much.... One special gift was an autograph book. I forget who gave it to me but I thought it was so cool. Who's autograph was I going to get in Toronto in 1966? Who cared, I got all my teachers and classmates to sign it and was delighted with my collection. Walking back to school with my friends from birthday lunch was usually the best part. We were saturated with food and drink (real chocolate milk causes such a sugar rush), ready to run around the play yard before crashing out half way through the afternoon class. Now that's what I call a 'birthday bash'!

This year my special party was with my family in Toronto. It was my first birthday that my mom didn't call to say 'happy birthday' and send me a gift. I got 53 birthdays with her and I think that is great. I'm sorry she isn't going to make the parties anymore. She loved creating a big to-do about everyone's birthday. It's no longer about the gifts you receive but about marking the passing of time together.... And that's better than having an autograph book any day.

Another year and still counting.

Xox
M