I'm Older Than I Was, But Younger Than I'll Be...

It was my birthday yesterday. It was a good day...I worked, but after work some friends came over and we had East Indian food and ice cream cake. It was one of the first birthdays I've celebrated that we've had friends to come over for (to be fair, many have been with family and many, many more have been while I've been working at camp or away at a family camp event). After years of being a bit of an isolationist, it's nice to have friends to celebrate life's milestones with.

I guess as I get older I recognize the poor choices I have made and the things I have missed out on...and some days I wish I could go back and do things differently and live my life better. But of course that's not possible (yet, at least--if comic books and science fiction have taught us anything). So I live moving forward trying to make better choices now for better enjoying the rest of my life. Surrounding myself more closely with friends (and opening myself up to them) is one of those choices. Being less self-centered and more God/other-centered is another. So is biking, hiking, camping, and canoeing more. There are many more, but my point is that I can live in the past and wallow in self-pity, or I can move forward and live each day more fully. That's what I want. I may not always succeed, but I'm writing this as a reminder to myself to keep moving forward when those failures come. And hopefully, through what I learn, I can pass those lessons on to my kids so they don't have to have the same regrets. But we often need to go through those tough times (sucky as they may be) in order to learn the lessons better ourselves. But here's to living the next 37 years with less regrets and a fuller life.