Birthday

Tomorrow is my umpty umth birthday. Oh, what the heck, I'm going to be sixty seven. Why hide it? That's how old I am. I can't do anything about it. Today was my pre-birthday celebration day. Since we are going out to dinner tomorrow evening and I am the designated driver, I decided to have my birthday drink ( a wee dram or two or three) today. Anne made me one of my favorite dinners, chicken cordon bleu. Yummy. We had peanut butter Girl Scout cookies and chocolate ice cream for desert. That is living.

We also took a walk in Holmdel Park. It was windy, but pleasant. I listened to music of Chris Via and the Giles Mountain String Band. Chris, who I met at the Folk Musicians' Retreat made my new banjo, the one I got myself for a retirement present. Neil Turner, who I also met at the Retreat, made the neck, shipped it to Chris who then finished the neck, built the pot and put the whole thing together.

So here I am on the threshold of another birthday, getting another year older. Really, I've been getting a year older all year. Tomorrow I will only be another day older, but the number changes. It increases. Sunday we will have three of our four children and their families gather at our house. This, to me, is the best birthday present and I am thankful for each of them, Anne, my health and my friends. I guess my health is okay. Who ever knows? I'm still here, so that is one criteria of well being. A former colleague from work lost her brother this week and he was only forty nine and in "good health." They say he was in good health, but he obviously wasn't since he had a heart attack. He and they only thought he was in good health.

Today was a beautiful day to be outside to appreciate my health and the world. I like to get outside, even away from the house, to experience life. I like our house and being in it in the winter and lousy weather is fine, but when the weather improves, it is beneficial to go out, to go to the ocean or the bay and see the rest of the world. Tomorrow is predicted by the weather gurus to be a nice day and I will go out in it and breathe in whatever it has to offer.

Just so you don't think I spent my day boozing and listening to mountain music all day, I did do some constructive things. This morning I went into the garage and rearranged the seasonal power equipment, the snow blower, wheel barrow, lawn mower, etc. I tried to run the gas out of the snow blower, but did not succeed. I guess there was more gas in it than I realized. I cleaned up the mower housing and pull cord mechanism which had been getting stuck and I swept a large portion of the garage. I also did my weight training. It takes some time to lift all those little dumbbells. Then we went for our walk, then I read some and then I listened to music. I try to get something productive done each day, usually in the morning, before I allow myself to relax or do something frivolous like playing the banjo. I've got myself curious now about what I will do tomorrow.