Another year...

When birthday's come and go, its not like the old days.

I'm lucky that my older daughter was born a few digits ahead of me in the July calendar. My birthday is sort of forgotten in the shuffle which I suppose is just as well.

The best present of all is seeing the little ones happy. The best present I can give them is our ability to make sure their birthdays are enjoyable. I'm not a needy person, and I don't care about the Joneses, but I do care that my kids are clean, properly dressed and positioned to have a great youth full of fond memories. This is why I work. If I were alone, I'd be on a sailboat drinking beer all the time not worrying about anything except the tide calendar and the weather.


But back to the main point, I think a key thing these days is making sure that my daughter and her younger sister understand that none of what they have received should be taken for granted, nor should it be simply expected. Material things are long forgotten - there are few presents that I distinctly remember as a kid - its the memories that remain.


Again, I really dislike my birthday. I dislike the weeks before and after. But I'm happy for my daughters' birthdays. Their anniversaries should be celebrated with all of the pageantry and glee possible.