By the time I went to bed, that night of my 60+ birthday, I was so worn out I could not even turn in bed to my favorite side. Face up, I took a few deep breaths and reviewed the events of the day.
It began with the sheer knowledge that I had reached the age when a lot of men are at a loss as to what to do with all their free time, having retired from a long and rewarding career, and I, I could hardly find the time to do some of the things I liked: writing a blog, editing a few short stories I have written, planning a vacation, walking barefooted in a neighboring beach. It was my birthday and I was lucky that it was also my weekday-weekend, and my wife could honor me with a great meal. You see, I am still working, and more than that, beginning in a brand new industry. However, I turned this apparent negative into: I am keeping my mind active, creative; I am staying physically fit; in my job I meet lots of interesting folk, and give a good and needed service.
Next, as I shaved, I realized I had to dig a little deeper to get those last hairs hiding in some of the wrinkles on my face. What the heck (learned this phrase from my daughter!), this is an interesting face, one that I dared plaster on the cover of my last book.
The program for the day was a familiar one: my kids visiting me and hanging around me a little longer than usual, the delicious smells of my wife cooking, hugs, kisses, cards, gifts (I confess two from my wife I had already opened), pictures, the singing over a cake, a little wine, and maybe a kick-ass movie with the boys.
Everything happened as expected. Let me add, that I spent half and hour thanking a lot of Facebook friends that took the time to congratulate me on my special day.
But this was a different day. And what made it different this time was my realization that in a very small way, I was touching people’s lives with my own. Whether they were my offspring, or my wife, or my wife’s family, or my friends (Facebook and personal), they were all touched by who I was on this Earth. This humbled me tremendously. Furthermore, all these human beings, on my birthday, defined in a very particular way, who I was.
Sometimes, I want to be an island, but I am not an island. I am humanity, and so are you. We are connected through love, birth, death, cakes and candles, food, gifts, hugs, Facebook emoji, postcards, phone calls, children and grandchildren. And even though I sit alone by my tranquil lake, behind my house, I am sitting there profoundly linked to hundreds, if not thousands of individuals.
Then, at the end of it all, I realize that a good birthday, like a good life, should be exhausting!
Copyright 2017, J. G. Herrera
WONDERFUL SIMPLICITIES By Author J. G. Herrera 