No. 19

There are all those years when you throw a party for them.
There are those years when they surprise you with a party.
There are the years when you take them out for the evening.
Sometimes, there is also the big fat family dinner year.
Maybe also a lets-get-drunk year.
The birthday cake, bumps, gifts and songs are always there.
Ofcourse God bless the phone calls and the hugs.

And then, there is that one year where you wake up at 5 am in the middle of nowhere. All alone. No cell phone network either. You got out for a walk to a nearby bird sanctuary. See and hear more birds than you ever thought existed. Sit there for an hour on a bench next to a lake. Think. Watch the sun rise. Watch the lake. Since there are no disturbances or distractions around, the lake does something wonderful. It helps you see yourself quite clearly. Just the way you are.
Then, back to a normal working day.
At the end of the day, something brings you back to the lake. You are there once again. Watching the sun set. Joining the lake as it reflects.

As the last traces of light begin to disappear, you walk back. And it is only then that you realise what a good decision it was to have walked all the way and enjoyed the journey as you did so. That how much ever uncertain, unsure you may have been you always kept walking and finaly reached the lake.

Because as a wiseguy once said, “You cant leave your footprints behind in the sands of time by sitting on your butt. And, lets face it, why the hell would anyone want to leave their buttprints in the sands of time.”

Happy 19th to me!