Birthdays

There is an uncanny number of birthdays listed on my October calendars...at least 10. Apparently January is the month to get busy.

On a completely unrelated note (unrelated only to mitigate the gross-out value of the connection between this and the previous statement), my dad celebrated his 60th birthday yesterday. It was the first time I can say I genuinely celebrated his, or anyone else's, birth - or rather, his being alive. This year has been so tumultuous for him - all of us - that there were actual moments of doubt. And I'm realizing more and more that I probably won't need more than two hands to count the number of birthdays he has left...so I actually value his birthday. It's interesting, because despite all the birthday wishes I send people and birthday partying I do, it's rare to feel an emotional connection to the celebration. That is, beyond an immediate feeling of happiness for being in a particular place at a particular time, and seeing the birthday-person happy. Kudos to my dad for turning 60!