Birthday(s)

Today is my birthday.  September 2nd.  Having a birthday is great of course and I love it.  I always take the day off and I have already received so many great gifts and I made reservations at a delicious new restaurant.  But my birthday isn't just mine alone, my Dad and I have the same exact birthday.

My Dad passed away last December.  It's been a really hard year, although I probably don't need to tell you that.  It's been a lot of learning, a lot of crying and breakdowns.  The strange thing is that I don't remember it very well.  Normally I have an amazing memory but this year?  Not so much.  People keep telling me things over and over and I am still surprised to hear them.  You wrote a book?  That's amazing!  Then I see the look of confusion on their face and I realize I already knew that.  It's ok though, people are really nice and they understand for the most part.  I'm calling it "My Year of Crazy" and I get to be as weird and sad as I want and no one can do anything about it. 

So today, this is what I hope.  I hope that I can enjoy my birthday and use it as a time to remember the good memories.  For the rest of my life, I will share a birthday with my Dad, there will never be a year when it is my day alone and I don't want to be upset about it.  I want to be happy about it.  I am stating my intentions and expecting my brain to follow along in this plan.  It might not be so easy this first year but with practice I think it will get better. 

Happy Birthday Dad.