Well, it was that day again.  That day where, when you go to a restaurant, the wait staff gathers round, sings a song, and presents you with a candle sticking out of the smallest dessert ever created.

Yep, I had me another one of those birthdays, and yep, I’m pretty damn happy about it.

Lots of people dread birthdays.  This is something I’ve never understood.  Sure, you could dread a birthday, but really, what’s the point?  When you consider the alternative, I say, the more birthdays, the merrier.

Look, I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have all the answers about this thing called “life.”  I mean, when you think about it, it’s pretty silly.  We’re here, I’m writing this, you’re reading this, but why?  There IS a universe, we DO exist, but why?  These are the questions that have been vexing (that’s right, I said vexing) me as I approached this birthday.

And strangely, I fear it was more than the simple anxiety of getting older; it was a minor crisis of faith.  And when your crisis of faith involves questions about the universe so grand that you really think no one should contemplate them for any period of time, well, then you’ve got a genuine problem.

(Or am I having delusions of grandeur about the minor fears and worries all humans must face?  I hate to be ego-maniacal about my problems.  Great, something else to worry about.)

Maybe it’s just the fact that every day, when I go to work, I park directly overlooking a very popular, and often used cemetery.  Nothing says “Welcome to Monday morning at the office” like the site of a bulldozer, chairs, and an assemblage of wreaths.

Regardless, I’ve certainly had better times in my life, mentally, than the last couple of months, and I’m not sure why that is.

I do know that it was sunny, and 85 degrees today.  I had a fantastic birthday weekend; heard from both my parents, was visited by my brother and sister in law, saw my best, best friends for a great trip with them and their kids to the zoo, and went to dinner tonight with three of the kindest, most caring people you could ever imagine knowing.

Go ahead and mark me down as a big fan of “life.”  And thanks so much to everyone who helped make this birthday weekend a true celebration thereof.