Mythical wife, my brother and several close friends and I actually celebrated my birthday this past weekend. Because my birthday fell on a Tuesday which is probably the worst day for a birthday to ever fall on, it made sense to do stuff on the weekend before. It was a pleasant time to hang with people I love and eat and drink while my in-laws watched the girls.
It was probably for the best because as far as my actual birthday has gone, there wouldn’t have been any time for well, anything.
#2 is sick with strep where I’m probably prime suspect to have been patient zero that got her sick. Subsequently, the new nanny got sick and didn’t come in, so as is the case when someone is sick, I had to eat the day and work from home and take care of both girls all day, and get no work done and miss the gym when I’m trying to stay on something of a routine.
However, being my birthday I refused to let myself get upset or fall into disappointment because nobody wants to feel either on a birthday. I made the best of my day, and thankfully my workload could permit it, and I actually had a pretty pleasant day with my kids before the sickness started to really overtake #2.
Regardless of the circumstances and minutiae, I did get to spend my birthday with my daughters. At the end of the day that is what matters and it’s always time well spent.
And this is how I bring in my 40’s. I knew I would probably end up writing some sort of drivel for the occasion, and all I knew was that I was going to compare it to how I ushered in 30, where I was discovering a donut burger in Midtown in comparison.
Aside from the fact that I moved out of my old house and into a new one, met a girl that would have me, marry her and have not just one, but two kids, not much else really feels like it’s changed between 30 and 40. I still brog, I still watch wrestling, collect blets, casually follow baseball, it’s just now I have my own family interspersed among it all, and my days are packed every day.
I don’t make big deals about birthdays, even supposed milestones like 40, because i don’t want to get my hopes up in the event things go tits up. Frankly if I were a more selfish person a day like today might’ve constituted tits up but perhaps I’ve grown or my priorities have changed to where I recognize a day with my girls as good in every way shape or form.
Otherwise the only real things I feel like I need to concern myself with other than the litany of old jokes I can make about myself is to better take care and be cognizant of my own health and well-being. But a day like today, even if it is the only 40th birthday I’ll ever have, just feels like any other day. Same overload of chores, childcare, feeling overworked and having no time for myself. Except I made a very conscious effort to not give into the usual feeling of despair.
Except if I’m lucky, I’ll get some cake to eat and some gifts to open up. But bring on 40; I’ve got not intention of slowing down at the gym and I’m determined to get my running speed back to where it was pre-pandemic.
