The Birthday Thing

Some of you have probably noticed that I've been less than subtle that Friday is my birthday.

It's because I love birthdays.....I love my birthday, I love my daughter's birthday, I even love my dog's birthday. It always makes me sad when someone says, "I hate my birthday" or "Don't make a big deal out of my birthday".

Here's why.....There is a day that is selected for you to enter the universe. On that day, everything changes. Things you can't even imagine began to change.  On the day I was born, I was destined to intersect all of your lives somehow.  Whether you are a friend from high school that laughed with me over my lack of algebraic finesse, a family member that has held my hand during sad times, a friend that has had a drink with me at a concert, a friend that knows my heart or a friend that I've never actually met before.....on August 19th, 1961 everything changed because Jack and Dolores Berhow allowed a daughter, named Paige, into their lives.
A course was set that would somehow allow us to touch each other’s lives.   Through a word; spoken or written, through a moment standing next to a motorcycle, through a song at a concert….whatever the means, on that day the intersection was built.

That's HUGE and in my opinion, worth celebrating.

The same thing is true for you.  The day you entered the universe through a blinding beam of light is significant.  If you have chosen to be a part of my life then it's important to me.  I am changed, touched, loved, encouraged and so much more by the people who choose to be in my life.

So PLEASE celebrate with me....and I'm not talking about the physical celebration...although a pair of Manolo Blahniks or a Prada bag would be pretty fucking sweet....I'm talking about the higher kind of celebration that says...."Hey, the world is a better place for me because I have Paige as a friend".....and PLEASE allow me the same unimagineable privilege of doing the same thing with you when it is your birthday.

YES....a birthday brings with it an awareness of the inevitable aging process....and a lot of that sucks....but even that is freeing in a sense.

Friday, I’ll be FIFTY freaking years old and with that comes a sense of self that I couldn't even imagine having in my 20's or 30's  .....a power that only comes with getting older and experiencing life.  A power, a joy, a mighty sword that comes from making bad decisions, celebrating good decisions and living with everything else that falls somewhere in between. So, I'll take the occasional sore joint, the wrinkles (that only go where the smiles have been), the dependence on colorful chemicals to keep the gray at bay and the fact that I've probably been her longer than I'm going to be here.....that's okay. I'm just going to enjoy the rest of this ride with all of the power, grace and beauty I can muster!

So go ahead, wish me a Happy Birthday.