Turning 52 Wasn’t so Bad

In thinking about turning 52 yesterday, I began the day concluding that I am most definitely now into the second half of my life. How far into the second half remains to be seen but it’s one of the few times I have thought of my own mortality.The heat and humidity of the day sapped whatever energy there was to celebrate but it was not a bad day.Things began well when I walked into Democratic Headquarters, to be serenaded by a dozen colleagues. The HQ is air conditioned, the coffee was hot and the munchkins were tasty so the kick off event – featuring Congressman Jim Himes – went well.Deb insisted I show up at her drop-in knitting group because people wanted to see me so I showed up. Dominic, the group’s ring leader, presented me with a couple of bottles of Manhattan Special soda, which will go down well with vanilla ice cream.I returned home to a deluge of greetings from Facebook. My morning routine includes wishing others on my friends list a Happy Birthday and yesterday was my turn with easily 10% of the list sending notes throughout the day. All my worlds collided as family, friends, colleagues, fans, and the like all chimed in and I was deeply touched.Deb and Kate spent part of the day prepping parts of the birthday feast but the heat slowed everything down. At one point, I ran out for an errand and used my coupon from Dunkin’ Donuts for a Coolatta which helped. Being Kate’s final day with us, I knew she wanted to rewatch Horesefeathers, so we settled on the couch and did just that. Soon after, Deb appeared, announcing she was melting and suggested we go to Starbucks with knitting and reading. That proved a wonderful respite but it also meant coming home after 7 to complete the meal. This also allowed us to watch the final innings of the Mets extra-inning loss to the Dodgers.The ribs had been baked and marinated, the cake was baked and needed to be assembled and preparations were moving along nicely. As the corns went on the grill, it became apparent that we had just run out of propane. I ran out to Home Depot but they had just closed to had to get a new tank from Stop & Shop but we struggled to get the fitting right. By then it was after 8, we were exhausted, hungry, and not up for delays. Instead, we tossed the ribs in the broiler, microwaved the corn and beans and shortly thereafter finally sat down to our meal. Which was wonderful.I then opened presents and cards followed by a freshly made Black Forest Cake.All in all, not the single best birthday I’ve ever had, but certainly a very good one, surrounded by family. Onward to the 53rd year.