What the he**!

My cheeks hurt.  Nothing like being surrounded by good friends and good food.  And lots of laughter.  But I'm tired now.  I think it must have been the scrumptious pumpkin parfait (chocolate, pumpkin, ginger, gingersnaps) all beautifully composed.  Or maybe it was the 5 am wake up (the alarm was set for 5:30, really) followed by the run and the stunning sunrise. Today's sunrise was exceptional.  And the best part, a few of my non-running friends saw it too!

I know that my energy has shifted.  Last year I ran a marathon on my birthday.  It was a good way to de-emphasize the day, though I did get to spend it with my folks and some friends.  But the marathon was the point more than the birthday.  But this year, I let the birthday be.  It wasn't a big deal, but I did what I wanted to (okay, maybe with the exception of reading files).  I ran with my dog (who is nursing a sore knee because she's a dog and doesn't always think about what she does - she lives by the motto "What the hell?" whereas I rarely live by it).  Maybe this next year I'll try and live my life they way Sydney does.  It can't hurt, and who knows what it might bring. 

My niece and nephew each sang me their Happy Birthday song - oh if they would only call back and leave those songs on my voicemail.  Nothing can make you smile like a 3 year old and a 5 year old singing Happy Birthday (or anything for that matter)!  None of the adults in my family sang (parents, brother, aunt - they all declined to put me through that :).  Maybe their wishes came without a tune, but I felt them and heard them loudly and gratefully.

And the day ended with good friends and good food and lots of laughter.  I'm going to ride this wave and hope it's a big one and a long one because I like where it's taking me at the moment.