The Zen of Birthdays and the Joy of not being Dead: Having just completed another orbit around the Sun I am filled with both wonder and gratitude as I reflect on the journey which brought me this far, no one would have ever guessed that I would be around for 21 let alone 61:))) Monday, March 10th, was not a particularly exciting day. I helped a friend with a few projects, did some errands, had a quiet dinner with family, opened gifts and cards, showered with Nancy, slept like a baby. When I say it was not a particularly exciting day, what Im trying to convey is that it was not that unusual from any other day in my life today... and what a difference that is:))) I was able and willing to help out a friend who could rely on me to be there for him. I was responsible enough to meet my obligations as a husband, father, contract employee and member of a 12 step organization with integrity and enthusiasm. I woke up that morning the same way I went to bed that night... snuggled next to Nancy (and two cats), content, guilt free, happy, inspired and grateful for the chance to do it all again. As a rule, there are no big events tied to Birthdays in our family but we have developed a keen sense of importance applied to living the days in between them:))))) As Jessicas Birthday was last Monday, mine this Monday and my Moms the day after we have traditionally got together this week as the 3 birthdays all blur together... this week is proving to be a little different. My sister (Lacey) and her kids (Kathleen & Robby) are on spring break and coming to visit tomorrow from Houston via Melbourne. We will have a gathering that has never occurred before because we are picking up a man I have never met at the airport when his flight arrives from Guatemala. My older brother Lee only had 25 birthdays before he was killed in an accident in 74. He had fathered a child in his teens, the unwed mother moved to Georgia and put the baby up for adoption... all contact was lost for more than 40 years. My mother and his mother, Barbara Fumea, never gave up their efforts to find out the fate of that vestigial connection to my brother but now those severed ties have been restored and he is due to arrive Thursday for a reunion no one ever though possible. He has met his birth mother and my mother, his birth grandmother, but this will be the first time this part of his birth family have met... I am filled with so many emotions, memories and hopes as this reunion approaches. Birthdays have never been the same since I joined FB and established the many meaningful relationships in my network of eclectic and far flung family and friends... I want you all to know that I appreciate the many positive thoughts and well wishes you have bestowed upon me and I wish you all the joy and good health you deserve:)))))))))))))))))))
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 11:35:33 +0000