birthdays I remember

Today I am no longer "almost 54" - I am there, but not yet at another race category. It is this day of my birth which made me think of the other birthdays I remember. My first memory was when I turned 9 years old and it was my "Golden Birthday" - meaning that I was 9 on November 9Th. My mom got me a birthstone ring which I cherished and wore through three years of college until it was swiped by a roommate or accidentally washed down the kitchen drain with my Aunt Margie's class ring that my uncle gave me when she died. Aunt Margie (really my mom's aunt) died at 53 of an abdominal aneurysm.

On my ninth birthday my mom made ham salad sandwiches, which to this day, I love. It was a beautiful day - unusual for November in the UP and we sat outside at the picnic table and ate lunch. My friend Darlene came over and we were using an old lawnmower to ride down a hill. Darlene fell and broke her leg. We didn't know it at the time. I did what any future nurse would do and wrapped it in an ace bandage. Later the doctor said this was a great thing to do because it kept down the swelling.

Funny, that my memory of many other birthdays is hazy. I have an old diary entry from when I turned 15 and the entry on the day before that birthday said:

Mom got me a real nice sleeping bag for my birthday. It makes me feel bad because Dar and those guys didn't even by me anything and they did everyone else. Oh well.

"Dar and those guys" referred to my friends who were Catholic and only included me in stuff when they didn't have anyone else...or so it seemed at the time. I thought they were my good friends, but in the general scheme of things they were not.

On my 16Th birthday there was no entry at all - I think by that time I was tired of writing in a diary. I do believe I was "sweet 16 and never been kissed" as the saying went. I bet that would be a rare finding today.

I do remember a birthday where my sister got me a fake fur black coat - and another birthday that she got me a leather jacket with fringe on it. My sis always made sure my brother and I had great birthdays and great Christmas' especially the times when my mom and dad didn't have much money.

I remember an old boyfriend buying me White Shoulders perfume which later I found out his mother actually bought. On my 21st birthday when I was a Senior nursing student at Northern Michigan University. My friend Terry, who is now a lawyer, took me to peanut night at Andy's bar in Marquette, MI. We walked downtown from campus and I got free beers and lots of free kisses. Terry stole the coat rack from Andy's which became my birthday present. The next night, we went down there again and told everyone it was my birthday. It was the birthday that kept on giving.

Seems like after a person turns 21, the birthdays don't matter so much anymore. Like most people, I didn't like being 30 because I thought it was so old. A friend had a surprise party for me when I was 40 and Bruce had a party for me when I turned 50. I like being 50 something - not young but not yet old. I like being who I am and not worrying what other people think. I am not so fond of some parts of me at 50 something, but other parts are holding up well - like my legs. My hair is not yet gray and when it gets there I will let it be what it wants, as long as it doesn't turn pink.

So on this birthday, Billy, Bruce and I went out to dinner. Then we went to a bar and had Guinness and a shot of Bushmill's whiskey. We were home by 9pm. I did not know that my friend and running buddy Bob was taken by ambulance to a hospital because he couldn't breath. As I drank my Guinness, he was getting intubated and put on a ventilator. He has pneumonia and ALS, the worse disease I can think of having. He too, is only 54 and I don't think he is enjoying this age at all. He will celebrate his birthday next month in a much different way than I did. Life is certainly fleeting so we should all enjoy our birthdays in whatever way we can and be thankful for another year to hang out in this world. And certainly we should all slow down and enjoy the little things and each moment.