This Dad Reflects On His Birthday

So today is my birthday. I am not adding this to a post to get more Facebook wishes or happy birthday tweets. No, I just find that on the anniversary of the day you were born, it the best day to reflect on where you have been.

I am not ashamed to say it, I am 30. I mean, 35? No, okay fine, I turn 39 today.

I am a 39-year guy living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who currently is not working. If I went back to 20-year old me and explained in 19 years that would be the situation, I would have told myself I was crazy.

I grew up thinking life would be more cookie cutter. I would be married and have kids by 25. Have a great job and making a lot of money by 35 and have a big old house to hold everything.

Life is not cookie cutter of course.

Looking back, I always knew I wanted to be a dad. Being a dad was certainly a life goal of mine and as normal and typical as becoming a dad is, it just does not happen for everyone. So I am thankful.

I am even more thankful for having two wonderful, perfectly healthy boys who make me smile and laugh every day. Again, not every body is so lucky.

I have the best partner in crime in my wife, who also makes me smile and laugh every day. She pushes me to be better. She fill in the areas of life I tend to avoid. She is the best mother two boys could ask for.

So today, as it pours with rain and I sit in my sweat pants on a Friday, I don’t feel sad about where I am in life. I have a job I like to go back to and a bright future in doing whatever I want to do.

For me, everything has always taken longer to achieve. The road has not always been straight. But everything I have achieved to date, I have earned. That makes it all the more special.

I am not saying there was some help a long the way, but for the most part, I had to make things happen. I had to figure out what to do when times were tough and I had to make the best of the situations presented to me.

Would I have preferred it all to happen faster? For sure. But you can’t dwell on that. Age is a number to me and I certainly don’t feel like I am a year away from 40. Now, my body would argue with you. I don’t bounce back from being tired as fast as I used to and I do stress about being an “old” dad sometimes when my 3-year old can already exhaust me.

But that is life. You have to roll with it and enjoy it and not worry about at what age stuff happens.

I guess the point I am trying to make underneath all of this is that I am happy where I am in life. I am happy with my awesome family and friends and look forward to what the future years bring.

I also am not going to be blogging about turning 40, so enjoy this inside look while you can.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Thanks to Harrison who sang Happy Birthday to me twice today and thanks to all my readers, fans and those who I connect with online.

Finally, thanks to my wife. As we come up on 10 years of knowing each other, I am glad that you have been around to celebrate so many birthdays with me.

I leave you with this.

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