What Birthdays Mean to Me

On my 33rd birthday I was at a girlfriend's house and her 5 year old daughter said, "Happy Birthday and I hope you have one next year." This little girl had no idea that I was going through chemotherapy for cancer but her words made me very conscious that not one of us is guaranteed another year on earth. As a former smoker and a two time cancer patient, I know that the candles on my cake are probably more limited than others. If you are still smoking, you are also limiting the candles on your cake.


This week I'll be having the 19th anniversary of my 39th birthday. It's not that I'm trying to deny that I'm getting older, it's just that I don't relate to any particular number. Physically I feel much older than 58 but mentally and emotionally, I still feel like a kid in many ways. So I celebrate the day, not the number. And I do celebrate because I know that some year, I won't have a birthday to celebrate.

I fully support the slogan of the American Cancer Society: The Sponsor of More Birthdays because too many of my friends won't be celebrating a birthday this year: Gordon, Bill, Harriett, Farrar and Lona. So this year, I will celebrate for them because some day I will be joining them. I just don't want it to be too soon.

So don't think of birthdays as celebrating getting older, celebrate because you are still here. Celebrate and remember those who won't be getting any older, because as my Dad used to say, "Every day on this side of the grass, is a good day."