Subject: Today is My Birthday!
I was born on this day in 1948. I guess that makes me a day older than yesterday. I share the same birthday as Ed Sullivan, Ben E. King (sang "Stand By Me"), Brigitte Bardot, Nick St. Nicholas of the group Steppenwolf, and Helen Shapiro. Birthdays are suppose to be a celebration and reflection on your life. It just occurred to me funerals are a reflection of your life as well.
No great celebration for today. I am going to attend my grandson's high school football game this evening. Because of the game I will sacrifice my traditional steak dinner but hey it's not about me anymore. I never was big on birthday celebration except when it came to celebrating other people's birthdays. I guess I was just didn't like the attention when it came to celebrating mine. Now that I am older, I guess they mean much more to me now. You never know if this will be your last one. So you have to live it like this is the last one. I guess my celebration will be of course the football game but after the game, a stiff Wild Turkey and Coke.
Have you noticed as you get older, your children seem to have their own agendas and immediate families seem to take the back seat until they need something from their parents? Of course we probably did the same thing as we were growing up and took on our own families and responsibilities. I don't want to think I behaved that way especially when I didn't get to tell my Mom how much I loved her before she passed away. I shared that story with my kids and grandkids so they will always remember what is important. Will they remember that? I don't have a clue. But I wish I had that day back in September 3, 1983 when my mother died to say those words one last time before she left.
We never seemed to find the time to express our feelings in our fast paced society today. We keep putting it off until tomorrow but tomorrow becomes next week, next week becomes next month, and next month becomes next year and next year is then too late.
When I was in high school I would occasionally walk with my mother and she would hook her arm in mine and of course like a macho guy, I thought I was, I pulled away from her. I didn't want any of the guys from school to see me being a Mama's boy. It's so sad because I was her oldest and she was so proud of me and never missed the opporutnity to let me know it. Don't you wish you could just go back and change something which at the time seem so insignificant? Now I wish she was still here to hook my arm. I recall vididly how my mother turned gray in a one year's time while I was serving in Vietnam with the United States Army. I bet many other mothers did the same as they watched the CBS news with Walter Cronkite hoping to catch a glimpse of their son but praying they do not. I am sure all moms all across this great country of ours are doing the same today as they watch for a glimpse of their sons and daughters serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. I thank God for all of them that serve and pry He protects each and everyone and brings them home soon.
So as I was growing up, birthdays really never had a big impact on me. But I do remember looking forward to my 18th birthday. We all thought we became an adult when we made it to the magic number of eighteen. I also recall wanting to be 21 so I could vote. (that was the voting age then). When I turned 40, I felt depressed and old. When I turned 50 I felt old and depressed. I keep reminding myself it is just a number, so today I am a day older than yesterday.
Revisit the 60s if you dare.
Looking to start your own on line business. Start here.
I was born on this day in 1948. I guess that makes me a day older than yesterday. I share the same birthday as Ed Sullivan, Ben E. King (sang "Stand By Me"), Brigitte Bardot, Nick St. Nicholas of the group Steppenwolf, and Helen Shapiro. Birthdays are suppose to be a celebration and reflection on your life. It just occurred to me funerals are a reflection of your life as well.
No great celebration for today. I am going to attend my grandson's high school football game this evening. Because of the game I will sacrifice my traditional steak dinner but hey it's not about me anymore. I never was big on birthday celebration except when it came to celebrating other people's birthdays. I guess I was just didn't like the attention when it came to celebrating mine. Now that I am older, I guess they mean much more to me now. You never know if this will be your last one. So you have to live it like this is the last one. I guess my celebration will be of course the football game but after the game, a stiff Wild Turkey and Coke.
Have you noticed as you get older, your children seem to have their own agendas and immediate families seem to take the back seat until they need something from their parents? Of course we probably did the same thing as we were growing up and took on our own families and responsibilities. I don't want to think I behaved that way especially when I didn't get to tell my Mom how much I loved her before she passed away. I shared that story with my kids and grandkids so they will always remember what is important. Will they remember that? I don't have a clue. But I wish I had that day back in September 3, 1983 when my mother died to say those words one last time before she left.
We never seemed to find the time to express our feelings in our fast paced society today. We keep putting it off until tomorrow but tomorrow becomes next week, next week becomes next month, and next month becomes next year and next year is then too late.
When I was in high school I would occasionally walk with my mother and she would hook her arm in mine and of course like a macho guy, I thought I was, I pulled away from her. I didn't want any of the guys from school to see me being a Mama's boy. It's so sad because I was her oldest and she was so proud of me and never missed the opporutnity to let me know it. Don't you wish you could just go back and change something which at the time seem so insignificant? Now I wish she was still here to hook my arm. I recall vididly how my mother turned gray in a one year's time while I was serving in Vietnam with the United States Army. I bet many other mothers did the same as they watched the CBS news with Walter Cronkite hoping to catch a glimpse of their son but praying they do not. I am sure all moms all across this great country of ours are doing the same today as they watch for a glimpse of their sons and daughters serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. I thank God for all of them that serve and pry He protects each and everyone and brings them home soon.
So as I was growing up, birthdays really never had a big impact on me. But I do remember looking forward to my 18th birthday. We all thought we became an adult when we made it to the magic number of eighteen. I also recall wanting to be 21 so I could vote. (that was the voting age then). When I turned 40, I felt depressed and old. When I turned 50 I felt old and depressed. I keep reminding myself it is just a number, so today I am a day older than yesterday.
Revisit the 60s if you dare.
Looking to start your own on line business. Start here.
posted by Carl Hoffman @ 7:15 AM
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