Birthdays

My birthday is this month, and you know what, I could care less!

Birthdays never have been a big deal for me. I feel the same on my birthday as on any other day of the year. There will be no parties or celebrations. I will do what I do every day -- exercise, run errands and do chores, and in general take care of whatever needs to be done. My daughter takes me to dinner and brings me flowers, and Facebook friends post their birthday greetings. That's it. And that is more than enough.

It's not as if I had anything to do with when I was born. I simply appeared on a given day, and henceforth that became my birthday. This year's birthday marks a turning point in some ways, and it does remind me that the bulk of my years is behind me. I am no longer young, or even middle-aged. I am a senior citizen, and although my body does show some of the effects of time (gray hair, loose skin, a very few wrinkles, loss of muscle strength), I still feel like a much younger person. I am very active and involved in the world around me. Some people let age define them. They consider themselves 'old' when they reach a certain number. Some get depressed when they turn 40, or 50 or 60. But really, what does that number matter? Some people are 'old' in attitude at a young chronological age, while others still feel and act young regardless of what the calendar says.

Age is just a number. It doesn't define who I am or what I do. As Abraham Lincoln said, "And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years."