On the Occasion of my 41st Birthday

At first, I thought to make a bucket list of all the things I still hope to do before I slough off this mortal coil.  But on reflection, I figured this could be an opportunity to reflect on some of the things I’ve already done.  So here is a list of some of my high lights, low lights and just plain weird experiences.  They are in no particular order.

• Watched both of my kids’ births
• Watched both of my wife’s episiotomies (once by accident and the other from between the fingers covering my eyes)
• I once, and only once, ran a mile and a half in 10 minutes, 14 seconds
• Stayed best friends with my high school buddy for almost 30 years now
• Marched through the Rocky Mountains carrying an 80 lbs pack and a rifle wishing I were dead and exhilarated to be alive at the same time
• Participated in the greatest high school heist of all time, where my best friend and I “borrowed” a teacher’s master key, ran to the hardware store, had it copied and returned the key in under 6 minutes.
• Ran a school photography club for junior kids
• Stood in the Sistine Chapel and marveled
• Drove a Nissan Micra with no air conditioning 14,000 km across the United States over 12 days enjoying 2 days in Vegas, the 4th of July in New Orleans and finding the US Navy underwater warfare school in the middle of the desert (still seems fishy to me)
• Spent 10 years involved with and eventually commanded an Air Cadet Squadron
• Suffered 3 sports related broken bones (not so cool when you consider 2 broken fingers due to not catching a football and a basketball respectively and a broken toe due to a bad judo fall)
• Saw Milo stand on stage and take his bow in front of an audience of over 1000 people
• Got denied entry to a brothel because I brought a girl with me – and to this day I swear I thought it was a bar in an odd place
• Watched Maya get her first soccer hat trick (the first of many I hope)
• Sat on the cobble stones near the Trevi fountain, eating panini with my wife on her birthday
• Stood in wedding parties for many friends
• Watched as some of those friends were buried
• Helped a friend start a business and later watched the police arrest him for fraud
• Swung from the political right to the left
• Rappelled down the side of a sheer cliff
• Joined the military and in the words of my buddy’s dad “was the only guy to come back less up tight than he left.”
• Ate my first tomato in Monte Carlo
• Visited the grave of Niccolo Machiavelli
• Coached kids soccer and didn’t need the defibrillator even after running the field for 45 minutes in the hot sun twice a week
• Paid $600 bucks to the vet and got a stellar X-Ray of the giant turd stuck in my cat’s ass.  It’s now my screen saver.
• Investigated and successfully prosecuted a company for a workplace accident that crippled a worker
• Recognized when I was working for an unethical company and moved on
• Put a bottle of whiskey in my grandma’s grave because flowers seemed wrong

I haven’t exhausted all of the things that came to mind and that in itself makes me smile.  While my birthday is not until Tuesday, I’ll share this now so that if you’ve forgotten to get me a present you have time to find something great.

Easter Memories

We had one of the best Easter Days in a long time this year.  Maya let me sleep in until 6:34 am and then accepted a bagel, a blanket and a promise that we would check for the Easter Bunny in about an hour.  I even got that hour before both kids landed on the bed demanding that an immediate search for Easter loot be launched.  My wife, never a morning person except where presents are concerned, uncomplainingly left the bed and directed the search.  I worked magic at the Keurig and then later in the kitchen.  Milo finally got the pancakes he’d been craving.  We went as a family to the gym and swam in the pool.  After the gym, we discovered a new restaurant, ate a meal that could actually be considered adult and then enjoyed an orgy of Dancing with the Stars.  Overall, such a great day.

I was reflecting tonight about how Easter was when I was young.  My sister and I bolting down the stairs fearful that the dog had eaten all of the chocolates.  Discovering that the Easter Bunny had left the traditional pairs of rubber boots and raincoats for both of us.  Getting dressed in brand new clothes and going to church.  Sometimes even risking the foundations of the building by bringing my dad along with us.  In my teens, serving as an altar boy sometimes at as many as 3 services.  Finally getting home around noon for a small meal and then waiting for the hordes of family to arrive.  Loud aunts, gruff uncles, cousins you liked, cousins you hated, grandparents laden with treats and extended family too.  Battles would be fought and won, wounds licked and ripped open, in short, a family affair.  And food… there would be so much food that you knew what you’d be eating for the next week even before the first mouth full.  I’m certain that my love of food comes from how eating together was such an important part of being together as a family.

Things change.  Time moves on.  Traditions grow.  Still family at the centre of celebration.