Turning 30

This is the eve of my thirtieth birthday. I'm not the type of person to lie about my age or be "forever 29". Age is just a number in a lot of ways. I don't think of myself as a specific age, but more of an age-range. I think I'm currently stuck thinking of myself as mid-20s. I'll hear things on the news about people who are my age or within a year either side of it, and I will have this delayed "connection" to them because of the age proximity. It's one of those, "Oh, he is/was my age. Wow. Weird." kinda things.

I will turn 30 gracefully, or at least without protesting or denying. I am 10 times your age at this point (or will be tomorrow).

Also, the day before my birthday is a special day. It was my grandfather's (my dad's dad) birthday. We always had co-birthday celebrations on that side of the family. The last one we had was my sweet 16th. It was a tough one. My brother Randy had been in a car accident the month before and was still recovering. Jaybo had been diagnosed with throat cancer and was undergoing radiation. So it was tough to really be in a festive mood, tough to be excited about the prospect of getting my driver's license (which I did in June after completing the driver's ed course...and failing one driving test for hitting a Cadillac while trying to parallel park...yeah, not a proud moment for me). But overall, it was an okay party. Family was mostly together and that was what was most important. My dad's aunt, his mom's sister (my great-aunt Bobbie), had gotten me 17 gifts (1 for each year plus one to grow on). Most were trinkets or random things, but it was the presentation and the idea behind it that made them all special. Dad's sister Susie gave me an opal ring. Anyway, by November of that year, Randy was well on the road to recovery and Jaybo was not.

In part because of that 16th birthday, I don't have as much enthusiasm about growing older or having birthdays, at least for myself. For you, I would do anything to make your birthday special. Usually, we just opt for cake, ice cream, and presents, but I make sure we have plenty of family around. I want you to feel loved, everyday not just on your birthday.