Another year older...

and deeper in debt!

and yet, I am incredibly rich in friends and family, without which nothing else would matter. It's amazing how perspective changes with the passing years. When I was in my early teens, I remember imagining what the world would be like in the year 2000, which seemed light years away.And then I did the math, and realized to my twelve-year-old horror that I would be -- egads -- 36 years old in the year 2000. I would be so old that I wouldn't even be able to enjoy the new milennium!! Seriously,I recall feeling this way. Fortunately I am much younger now than when I was twelve.

I was a dreadfully serious child at twelve. ("Wednesday's child is full of woe" - yes, I was born on a Wednesday). And I worried about EVERYTHING --which, of course, was mostly nothing, but at the time the most minute details seemed the cause for great angst in my life. Homework, teachers, clothes, my thighs, a single zit on my chin, my thighs --the physical worries alone could fill entire paragraphs on my blog.
Add to that puberty, public speaking and sports, and I just wanted to spin a coccoon and emerge as a butterfly, skipping my teens entirely.

There are moments when the thought of that coccoon still sounds inviting, but most of the time these days, I am ready to face the world head on, and enjoy each day for the gift that it is.

On my birthday, my wish is for all of us to recognize the gift of every passing day.

(and also that I win the mega millions lotto or some other great fortune).