I really like celebrating my own birthday in my own way, making the day special for me. I got up at about 5:30 and made coffee and launched a YouTube video of beautiful scenery and pleasant background music. I began contemplating the things I am grateful for.
I am very grateful for having been born in 1951. I cannot think of a better time to arrive on planet earth, but it took me many years to realize this. The decades after WWII have been unusually prosperous and peaceful viewed in the light of all recorded history. And I had the extra privilege of being born in Europe, a white, heterosexual male who moved with his family to Canada as a young child.
And I am very grateful that I continue to have very good physical health.
I had a text message from my older sister, Nikki. She always remembers my birthday. Her birthday comes ten days after mine.
And I am grateful that I discovered Peter Limberg three years ago. I spent some time reading his Dispatches to Thumos. Spontaneously, I created my own copy of his document and highlighted the parts that resonated strongly with me.
At around 7:00 Pat got up and made more coffee. And as we usually do on Sunday mornings, we had our coffee on our front terrace as the sun came up. It was a beautiful sunrise but the colors faded quickly. With my coffee, I had one of my favorite treats, a decadent brownie from Mom’s Deli, sooooo good! Pat and I love this little tradition.
I phoned Mom and we had a nice chat. She is content and in amazingly good physical and mental health for her age, now 102. She immediately wished me a Happy Birthday. I am very grateful that she has had a long and good life. And having been with her at her 100th birthday party will always be a special memory.
Next I worked on a project that I had planned for this day, captured in my article 1998 - My Personality Type.
For the first time since December 2020 I took my vehicle out of the garage and drove around the block three times. It became illegal when my Temporary Import Permit expired. My efforts to legalize my vehicle continue and I will write more about this at a later date.
And with another little project in mind, I had Pat take a picture of me as a caveman.
The day before my birthday I posted two items at Emergent Commons, my favorite online community. One post was My New EC Engagement Plan and the other one was NOT GAME A with a link to my spreadsheet, THE SPACE. I signed in and was very pleased with the response.
For dinner, Pat and I walked to the Tomahawk Steakhouse. We enjoyed a glass of wine and some live music, a duo of keyboard and bass guitar. I am grateful for my lengthy marriage to Pat and our strong connection to a long shared past.
The last item on my list of things to do on my special day was connecting with my friend Frank Racicot. He was prospecting in a remote part of northern Ontario and our Zoom connection was poor. But we enjoyed our time together, as always. We have been friends for over forty years and I am grateful that we have stayed connected. We toyed with the idea of writing a book together but that will probably not happen.
This is the third year I am celebrating my birthday.