Happy Birthday

Yes, my birthday is three days before Christmas. Actually, less than two shopping days before Christmas.

I was born a month premature, and spent that month, including my first Christmas, in the hospital. My parents got a tax deduction a year before they expected one, but that did not really translate into special birthday benefits for me. I have had a lifetime of “one present for both,” of people busy with holiday parties or heading out of town, of “maybe we can do something after the holidays.”

My birthdays have taught me that my experiences are shaped by my expectations.

One of the saddest days of my life was the birthday that was marked by the completion of my Master’s degree and the realization that I had not yet been elected Governor of Wisconsin! One of the happiest birthdays I have ever had was the year I chose three couples who had been particularly good friends to me and took them all out to dinner.

My perceptions, and my memories, grow out of my own inner life as much as they are the product of the things that happen to me.

I appreciate that you are sharing my birthday with me this year. Please join me in raising a glass to how we have learned and grown over the last year, and all of the lessons and blessings of the year ahead of us.

Thank you. Many happy returns.

[Image by Aih.]