Yesterday was my birthday! I have successfully reached level 46! It’s always weird seeing that number go up every year, but I count my blessings I still get to keep track of it.
With my wife and son gone on vacation this week, it looked as though I would be spending my birthday alone. Truthfully, even if they weren’t away, most of the day I would’ve been “alone” to some degree. My wife works during the day and last year my son was in a summer camp, so I would’ve been working on comics until the late afternoon.
Thankfully, I had day plans with a good friend I sometimes visit and work on comics in their shared workspace. We chatted about various things, made art in various forms, and generally enjoyed one another’s company where I would’ve otherwise been by myself. It was mellow and pleasant, and it’s always nice connecting with friends.
Unfortunately I lost track of time out there and got a birthday parking ticket. Whoops.
My evening was spent doing one of my favorite things; playing games with the gentlemen of Nerd Summit, the name we have for our crew of nerds. I was fortunate to have our regularly-scheduled game night fall on my birthday. So I put on my pajamas, kicked up my feet, broke out some (dairy-free) ice cream, and pretended to be a wizard for a few hours. It was a perfect ending to a perfectly pleasant birthday.
I don’t think I would’ve wanted anything more than that if my wife and son were around. Maybe we would’ve gone out to a favorite restaurant together, but otherwise I’m not about big gestures or extravagance for unremarkable birthdays like 46 in the middle of the week. I’ll save that nonsense for the big decade milestones.
With luck I’ll have something more exciting to write about when I hit 50 in a few years.