a simple yarn

The day didn’t start out in any special way. A typical Wednesday…gray, rainy, cold. The only thing indicating that it might be unique is that the usual chock-a-block morning rush hour traffic had disappeared. Minimal cars. Quick run to the kids’ school. Smooth. The children said they ordered it up especially for me today. How thoughtful of them….

I am 44 today.

It doesn’t register quite as dramatically as a birthday ending in -0 or-5. Actually, I rather disregard these ‘in between’ events, as I can’t always remembers which it is…41? 42? 43? So, happily I will stay at 40, figuratively speaking that is, until I reach 45, and will camp on that number until I get to 50. It’s much easier that way. And these days, easy is good.

These annual-anniversaries-of-the-day-of-my-birth sneak in much more quietly than when I was a child. More like a gentle wind than a full-force gale. That would describe my children’s birthday expectations. As for Daughter-Kate, her big day on which she reaches double digits, will arrive tomorrow. But that is for tomorrow. Today is for me.

What shall I do in my quiet celebration?

Drink 44 cups of cappuccino? A bit over the top I think….certainly leading to 44 hours of sleeplessness. What about 44 uninterrupted minutes of knitting? That’s more like it. Well, whatever it is, it’s about want to today, not have to. And the family birthday pressies do a superb job of celebrating the different areas of my life.

Well, in spite of the dramatic hair change (which happens tomorrow…..cue scary music), I’d like to think that the quiet and gentle nature of the birthday celebration will reflect how I will grow older…..quietly and gently.