esrosedotblog

68

Today is my 68th birthday and I am celebrating it by not celebrating it.

As a born contrarian and counter dependent, the idea of making a big deal about birthdays goes against my grain. No surprise there.

It has nothing to do with age. In fact, I am quite surprised to find that I enjoy and am proud of my seniority. I have some misgivings about the decade turn just around the corner. Seventy sounds BIG. But, I am not there yet.

I think what I like about keeping a low profile on my birthday is that I can sneak up on people. I can casually drop a conversational pearl and switch the focus to me me me. Or, I can leave it alone. There is no premeditated celebration. No organized fun. Spontaneous.

I have had all the party combinations in my life; the well planned extravaganza, the surprise, the small but tasteful dinner with friends at a good restaurant. One year we had entertainers milling in a big crowd. Another time, we had a bunch of closer friends to dinner at a restaurant we loved. Then there was the time we took a bunch to the skating show followed by dinner at home. Brian Boitano. Limos.

See? I told you I had it all. But enough is enough. Now, it is time for some humility and quiet. Once is enough. I am not one to redo events or trips or whatever. We ran out of ideas for parties I guess. We also moved 3500 miles and left the party list behind in Boston. We have never cultivated the social circle here that we had back East. And that is fine too. Downsizing.

Have I said enough about this? For someone who is not interested in making a fuss, I have made a long column out of it. I guess it is still important. It is just that the ways and means of noting the occasion have changed. Is that part of being 68? I dunno. I never been here.