Happy Birthday to Me!

"Another year older and deeper in debt."

My birthday falls upon a weekday this year; therefore it will resemble every other workday, with the addition of birthday greetings from coworker, and perhaps a few notes and phone calls from friends and family. It has been a busy week, but a good one, and my birthday looks to be a busy day as well. I have a proposal due, and many tasks remain before it's ready to submit.

There's a certain amount of excitement attached to birthdays when one of the following things happens:

1. You move into the bottom of a new age group for competitions
2. You expect to receive a special birthday present of some sort (new car, cool techno gizmo, visit from the Swedish Bikini Team, etc.)
3. You throw a rockin' party with live music and all-you-can-eat ice cream.

Alas, none of these things made it on my agenda this year. Well, OK, I do expect to eat some ice cream at some point over the next few days, but I'm pretty sure there will be no party hats, gift-wrapped vehicles in the driveway, nor competitive advantages bestowed. In fact, this year kinda seems like one in which I merely got older, without gaining any benefits whatsoever from ticking off another year. No new discounts at IHOP, no new driver's license photo, no Social Security benefits -- everything's pretty much the same as it was last year.

Well, that's not entirely true. This has been a year of significant events, including a new job, and having my son move to a different city. But this particular birthday milestone marks nothing more than the passage of another 365 days, and as long as I'm healthy and happy and surrounded by people I enjoy, it really doesn't matter much, does it?

Leading up to December 1st, I had been thinking of copying my friend Katie's "birthday month of firsts" concept. In October, she gave herself the challenge of doing something new she had never ever tried before on each and every day of her birthday month, and then to write about it in her blog (www.runlongkatie.com). I thought this was a very cool idea, and I started making a list of things I might do in December. I came up with some excellent challenges (swim a 500 Taz, for example) and some awesome adventures (visiting Four Corners, going up in the Seattle Space Needle, etc.) You should try to make such a list--it's actually VERY hard to come up with 31 different things that you have NEVER done before (and that you can actually afford).

But as the start date approached, I realized that I might not be up to the challenge. Not only would my schedule be stressed by adding so many additional tasks to my to-do list, the fact is that I've already done SO many things that other people never get to do--I'd really have to stretch to fill the entire month with novel experiences.

I also have my own prodigious laziness to deal with, as well as my irrational fears about trying new foods. (Seriously, I had put "eat soufflé" on the list, but then realized that I didn't want to risk anything that might result in me being tempted to wear a beret.)

So, I decided to forego that particular challenge. Sorry. I may still try to do some of the list items this month, just because they sound fun...but there will be no pressure. I will also try to write about some of the experiences I've had throughout my life that probably aren't shared by many people (streaking, riding a motorcycle nearly 10 miles without turning it on, etc). And then perhaps I'll try the "month o' firsts" thing the next time I roll over a decade. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, it's December...which is a month that brings its own excitement and opportunities. I'll still have plenty to write about, I'm sure. So, please help me celebrate by having a great and wonderful day! Thanks!