A BIRTHDAY WISH….

There’s one thing that ALL of us have in common, Birthdays! It’s funny that when we’re young, especially when we’re young kids, birthdays just don’t come fast enough. It just seems so long that that last birthday, and everything that comes with it, always seems so far away, and when it comes, that day is gone, and then we have to wait until another YEAR before the next one comes around! It not that any of this is good, or even bad to some people, it just is what it is. Then we hit those 20’s and 30’s, and they seem to come up a little quicker, and then it seems that the only birthday that counts after all of this, is the one that turns into a new decade; the 40’s, the big 50! After that, let’s just say, we’re hitting the back nine; maybe we are a little slower, (physically), an ache and a pain here and there, and sometimes, we forget things. I’m just sayin’… but the funny thing is, we still remember grade school, high school like it was just the other day, and if one went to college, that was CLEARLY yesterday! Life, it’s an amazing journey, some might say good or bad, but without a doubt, it’s an amazing journey.

BIRTHDAY n. A day commemorating the founding or beginning of something

I had a birthday a few weeks ago, September 18, a Virgo. I loved it, for a lot of different reasons. I did find something, and it was the beginning of something, and it took quite a few years, (maybe all of the previous years!), to find; me. So what does that mean? That I never “found myself”? That I was “always looking”? No, not like that, it just meant that I knew what I felt when I felt it. How’s that for not answering a question??? My parents were strict Catholics, and that was the way I was raised, maybe not what I chose at that time, but that’s the way it was with me, and our family. Then I took about 25 years off, from church, (who would ever think?), but definitely not my religion. I was under the impression that, back then, that everyone was from the same background. Most of my friends were Catholic, and those that were not Catholic, were of another faith. That’s what is amazing to me; what happened to faith an commitment in todays world? I went through a few brain tumors, and that shouldn’t be the excuse to regain my faith, but I think that’s where we missed the boat. I wouldn’t recommend that everyone should go through what I went through medically, but I’m a firm believer that we’ve all had a situation in our lives, that should, (or could), change our beliefs, and our faith. I’m not preaching here, but just put it the back of your mind, and see how grateful you can be that attributes to where you are today.

The reason I brought that up, was that this year, I decided to spend a week with my family at the birthday time frame, and basically do nothing, and I can’t tell you how much fun I had? I had a few years, where I was waiting for that birthday, because I had been through some stuff that I, well I just wanted to celebrate, because I was happy to be here. I’m sure you all remember that when you were a teenager, and sometimes you might have missed a birthday gathering, to hang out with your friends; I know I did, and thought nothing of it. Now that my Dad is passed, I realized how important that was to both of my parents to have something for me, and I wish I had those birthdays back, but, of course, we can’t do that, so for this birthday I thought that I would go and spend time with my family, Mom, brother, sister, nieces and nephews, cousins, friends. It was a blast. My brothers birthday is 3 days away from mine, and my 2 cousins in Vegas are also Virgo’s; when we were kids, one big party handled all of us kids! Maybe my parents actually knew a few things, that we didn’t know! My brothers birthday was on a Saturday, which was the night of his B-B-Q that he wanted to throw, but he invited people that were also friends of mine, that went to Vegas for all of us, it really was great! The food? As most of your know, I like to eat, and boy did we eat! Small petites, smoked,(I had three), brisket, smoked chicken, a ton of sides, and of course my favorite desert, caret cake! It was unbelievable, delicious, and a ton of fun; all with my family. Let me mention this; my last night there, Tuesday night, my brother had extra food that didn’t need to be prepared on Saturday, so he was going to do it that night, Tuesday night just me, my brother, his wife, and my sister. We did this after a day of swimming at my Mom’s house, and we all thought it would be a early night, because it was my intention to leave early the next morning. Joe and I had a few beers, then opened up 3 bottles of wine, smoked a couple a cigars, and THEN, we had to open the bottle of Scotch that I got him for his birthday; needless to say, I didn’t get that early start. That night was just our family, and my Mom was dancing, we all danced with her, she had a picture of Dad held t her chest while we danced, and we played her music, hers and Dads. Unbelievable night, one that I’ll never forget. We got my cousins from the Midwest on skype, and shared stories, and as I’ve said before, in my family, there’s nothing but family, and it sticks in your mind like an elephant brain! This is what I believe a birthday is all about; family, family, and family, where we all were like kids, thinking like kids, behaving like kids, and actually thinking like kids for a brief night.

Enjoy your birthdays, your nights, your every moment, because don’t forget, we’re playing our back nine.

Peace and blessings,

Scott