Yesterday was my birthday. Other than the fact that I am now old enough to receive the senior discount it was inauspicious. I passed the day in what was for me perfect birthday fashion: lunch and a beer at my favorite local sandwich shop with my wife, followed by a matinee, Thai food, another glass at the local wine shop, and then an evening watching Game of Thrones. What made the day special, in fact, was the utter lack of pageantry. I spent the morning doing absolutely nothing other than making lists and writing the first 200 words of an essay that's been nipping at me to get it on the page. I didn't even work out. It's not that I'm opposed to the celebration or mopey about another year passing. I just like to keep it simple, be alone with the woman I love, and reflect on where I've been and where I'm going. There seems to be a belief that at some point in life an individual peaks, and then slowly becomes old or boring or unmotivated to chase new adventures. I feel the opposite.
It was thirty years ago yesterday that I first asked the gorgeous girl who would become my wife on our first date. The roller coaster of life that has since transpired has seen us travel the world, raise our boys, and know a thousand highs and lows that we could never have predicted. I never really wanted anything more than an interesting life, and it seems that has already come to pass. I'm eager for the next wave of adventure to challenge and push. These past thirty years have been a jumping off point -- a commencement -- for what will come over the next thirty years. The appalling notion of the senior discount notwithstanding, I am glad to have crossed this threshold and eager to continue riding the roller coaster.