Birthday Reflections

It’s my birthday. Back-to-school and my birthday always fall within a week or so of each other, so inevitably it’s reflection time, goal-setting time, a chance to figure out where I’m on track and where I want to concentrate my efforts on this particular trip around the sun. There are lots of things I wanted to accomplish last year that I didn’t, but I tried, and I’ll keep pushing this year.

Me at ten months with my mum

But this afternoon, sitting with my favourite hot chocolate and letting my mind wander, I got thinking about some of the things that are really great about being this age. I’m 41, and while I’m not sure I like how quickly the years are going by (actually, I know I don’t), some parts of it are pretty damn good. Here are some of the ones that appeal to me the most:

– knowing who I am and what’s important to me
– knowing whom I love and who loves me
– having a great kid
– not being too upset anymore if someone doesn’t like me
– not being afraid to have or express strong opinions
– liking what I like and not caring what other people think
– not being afraid of so many of the things that scared me when I was younger
– not feeling the need to conform to anyone’s idea of what’s cool
– not suffering fools
– being able to pick up where we left off with old friends whenever the chance arises to talk with them, no matter how much time may have gone by
– knowing so many great people who make my life richer by being part of it

And, as I recently discovered in a conversation about mutual connections, playing “six degrees of separation” is WAY more fun at 41 than it was at 21.

I know I’m forgetting a lot of things that could be on that list, but that’s a good start. What are some of the things you like best about being the age you are?

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You Say It’s Your Birthday…

9/11 memorial blog posts, retrospective TV shows, and new articles are all over the media this week, as I knew they would be. Many of them mention the “almost ten years” since the day we watched live as what we first thought must be a tragic accident turned into an act of terror we could scarcely comprehend, even though it happened right in front of our eyes. I can only imagine what the coverage will be like next year, when it really is the ten-year anniversary.

It’s also my birthday. That 9/11 was my thirtieth birthday. I’ve written a little about that before, here.

It’s a strange day to have a birthday. In the post-9/11 world, celebrating anything today always seems a little disrespectful, somehow. Kind of like having your birthday on Remembrance Day, I guess.

But being an introspective person, my birthday is also about reflecting on where I’m going, where I’ve been, where I am. And I can – and do – give a nod of thanks to those who lost their lives that day for pushing me to live mine the way I want to. So I’ll do that, and celebrate, too, because I can, and when you think of all the people who can’t, that’s as good a reason as any. I think they’d understand.

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