32? Really?
Last night I actually had to remind myself that, in fact, tomorrow (Sunday) is my 32nd Birthday. Seriously...my wife, the kids, and I have been so busy that my pending b-day has been more like an item on a to-do list than anything to really get all festive about. Mind you, 32 is hardly a big red letter year but on this go-around I think it's a simple case of my birthday being a much smaller priority than other matters we've been dealing with, mainly the forthcoming sale of our current home and the purchase and move-in to our new home. Each day presents a new "something": Attend the inspection of the new house, vacate the current house for a little while so it can be appraised for the buyer, get bids for some agreed upon electrical work on the current house, sign the addendum for a smoke detector upgrade on the new house, and...oh yeah...pack, because you gotta be out of here and into there in less than 6 weeks. Somewhere in the middle of all this comes the baseball and t-ball camps and the jobs we work to pay for all of it. (And, it should be noted, the Harry Potter release event my HP geek wife and oldest son attended until well past midnight.)
I don't mean for this entry to sound like a bitch and moan session because that really is not my intent. All of the above can and should be filed under "Nice Problems To Have". And all of us should be granted full permission to bludgeon to a pulp any grown man of my age who complains about having a loving and amazing wife, two bright and thriving young boys, and a terrific house awaiting he and his family's arrival, among other things. Hell, even the NHL has gotten it's act together to please that total hockey geek side of me. In fact, one of the things I like about this birthday weekend is that all of life's recent events scream out what I always envisioned age 32 being like. In a word, my life shouts "Domesticated!" And that really is what I imagined and I have received more than I ever wanted.
However, I would add this caveat: When I used to imagine life when I got "older" I usually had images of my 20's dancing around in my head. My 30's did not really factor in. I remember in high school I wrote a short story about a private investigator who befriends an orphaned child and my lead character was 26. My English teacher suggested I alter the character's age to 32 and I remember saying to him, "I don't know if I want him to be that old." It has also occurred to me that as of Monday I will have officially spent over half of my life (and counting) as a licensed driver. I'm not even really sure if that is significant but it is one of those moments that kind of makes you go "Hmm, ain't that the damnedest thing." On that note, a new favorite CD of mine is the just released Move Along by The All-American Rejects and as I listened to it this morning I realized it is one of those CDs that appeals to me as a grown adult but also to my inner teenager; that I would have loved the CD just as much in 1989 as I do in 2005. I don't see that as a sign of immaturity. As I said above, I live a very adult life with "grown up" responsibilities. I just decorate it with a youthful soundtrack...or something.
One last thought: I am still only halfway to that Beatles song having a very literal meaning. I've got a long way to go.
J
I don't mean for this entry to sound like a bitch and moan session because that really is not my intent. All of the above can and should be filed under "Nice Problems To Have". And all of us should be granted full permission to bludgeon to a pulp any grown man of my age who complains about having a loving and amazing wife, two bright and thriving young boys, and a terrific house awaiting he and his family's arrival, among other things. Hell, even the NHL has gotten it's act together to please that total hockey geek side of me. In fact, one of the things I like about this birthday weekend is that all of life's recent events scream out what I always envisioned age 32 being like. In a word, my life shouts "Domesticated!" And that really is what I imagined and I have received more than I ever wanted.
However, I would add this caveat: When I used to imagine life when I got "older" I usually had images of my 20's dancing around in my head. My 30's did not really factor in. I remember in high school I wrote a short story about a private investigator who befriends an orphaned child and my lead character was 26. My English teacher suggested I alter the character's age to 32 and I remember saying to him, "I don't know if I want him to be that old." It has also occurred to me that as of Monday I will have officially spent over half of my life (and counting) as a licensed driver. I'm not even really sure if that is significant but it is one of those moments that kind of makes you go "Hmm, ain't that the damnedest thing." On that note, a new favorite CD of mine is the just released Move Along by The All-American Rejects and as I listened to it this morning I realized it is one of those CDs that appeals to me as a grown adult but also to my inner teenager; that I would have loved the CD just as much in 1989 as I do in 2005. I don't see that as a sign of immaturity. As I said above, I live a very adult life with "grown up" responsibilities. I just decorate it with a youthful soundtrack...or something.
One last thought: I am still only halfway to that Beatles song having a very literal meaning. I've got a long way to go.
J