Happy Birthday to Me!

Tomorrow is my 32nd birthday.  We are heading to Phoenix so I won't be blogging and thought I would share some thoughts tonight.  My Mom asked me if I was excited about my birthday, but I said at this point birthdays really aren't that exciting for me.  Not that I dread them or hate them like some people, but it's kind of just another day anymore.  I am excited though that we will be seeing my brother, who I share the birthday with, and his kids and my sister is flying in from Colorado.  The one downer is I think Austin has a cold and that I am getting it too, but hopefully it doesn't get bad. 

I usually don't do a whole lot of deep thoughts on my blog, but I have been reflecting on my age and have some thoughts.  I don't intend for this to seem morbid, I really am ok with my age.  I remember when I moved down here almost 6 years ago my boss was in her mid forties and when we were chatting one day I referred to her as middle aged.  Well that totally set her back, and she reminds me that I called her that several times since.  I think she was 43 or 44, so if you double that it's 86-88, so to me that seems like a typical American life expectancy, so is it really that far off by saying that she was middle aged?  So if you double my age tomorrow you get 64 and I thought about it and I really know a lot of people who were not fortunate enough to make it to that age.  So does that possibly make me middle aged?

So I mentioned that I share my birthday with my brother, I was born on his 19th birthday.  My parents had four kids within a few years of each other.  In 1977 my two eldest brothers were in Iowa working for the summer when a lady fell asleep at the wheel and hit them head on.  It killed the oldest Kenny instantly, and severely injured my brother Doug.  A year and a half later I was born, so I like to believe that I was God's way of letting my family know that they had to move on from the grief and get on with life. 

Tomorrow Doug and I will celebrate another year.  I continue to enjoy my life and take each day as the gift from God that it is.  Maybe I am middle aged, but maybe I'm third-aged and have another 64 great years ahead of me.  All I think about that is if I live to be a hundred years I hope that I am able bodied and have a sharp mind still.  My Mom has a friend who was 77 and she went out on a Saturday night dancing with her husband, went home and went to bed.  She died in her sleep lying there next to her best friend.  That seems perfect to me, but is that bad for me to think about and wish for a simple death?  Oh well, at any rate I hope that day is a long time from now!