Birthday (Day 134)

April 18, 1966, was the day that you were born. Today, you would have been 57 years old. But, for reasons we cannot understand, instead of another birthday celebration, today is another “first” event since you died 134 days ago.

While birthdays were not a particularly big event in our relationship dynamic, today I find myself thinking about the 33 times we celebrated the occasion of your birth together as a couple. Some were small, low-key affairs with just the two of us. And then there were kids, and for a time the focus was more on them. Then, as they got older, we could celebrate the day with family meals and favorite homemade cake at home. Sometimes a gathering/party with friends and neighbors. Sometimes a weekend trip, or maybe a Bahama cruise.

We weren’t big on birthday gifts for each other; but still they were special days that marked the passage of time together. So, on this first birthday without you, I am sad that we can’t celebrate another year of you together. But, at least in some small way, each of us can take some time today to remember and reflect and be grateful for the times we had. And yes, we will play a few rounds of cards together and deal you in!