I’m not sure why, but it seems like I’ve gotten into the habit of updating this blog every year on, or about, my birthday. If you’ve read the entries in the past, you’ve probably figured out that I’m not a big fan of my birthday. If you go back and check, you’ll probably find phrases like, oh God, my birthday is coming up, wait, how old am I?, whoa, that’s kind of old, ugh, I don’t feel any different, at least it’s only one day out of the year, it’s been another year already? Anyhow, you get the idea —it’s just not my favorite day….
So, if it’s not my favorite day, is it really an appropriate occasion to celebrate? Lots of people I know (probably most) look forward to their birthday and wouldn’t think of not celebrating it. I’m thinking, when one gets real old each year, maybe it would be better to stand back and contemplate rather than celebrate. Contemplate means to look thoughtfully for a long time or think profoundly and at length… so you can contemplate about anything, but as you get really old, contemplation on your birthday usually goes along the lines of, has life been kind to me, or have I lived a life full of happiness and achievements? I think it would be interesting to ask a lot of different people, especially older people, what they thought of their lives. I bet that would make a great paper for a high school or college English class…
Every birthday is a reminder of how time has and continues to pass. Time now seems to fly by at a tremendous speed. When I was young, 10 years seemed like so far into the future it was incomprehensible. Now 10 years…. I’ve heard time compared to a roll of toilet paper. When the roll is new, and you start pulling the paper, you will notice the whole roll is moving and the rate of rolling is very slow. When the roll is almost finished, then the rate of rolling is very fast and if you continue to pull, it will stop in no time because there is no toilet paper anymore… same with life.
As the blog faithful know, I’m somewhat fascinated by a lot of Chinese traditions. According to ancient Chinese tradition, only the elders celebrate birthdays. In the traditional Chinese family structure, the patriarch or matriarch was head of the family hierarchy and only they could celebrate their birthdays. And they had good reason to celebrate — to invite guests and relatives to witness the success and harmony of their family unit. So maybe I should celebrate my “old-age” birthdays…
Each day I thank my good fortune for being healthy and still kicking. The two things I’m most thankful for is my good health and my forever tolerant wife. Ok, three things, my kids, oh, four things my grandkids, and my friends… and living in West Virginia… and ok, I’m thankful for everything. I guess I’ve talked myself into this celebration thing…. only it seems wrong only to celebrate a birthday. I think I’ll try to “celebrate” constantly — not just once a year. If you doubt me, check back here next year, maybe I’ll give you a status report.
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