35? There Must be Some Mistake

So today is my birthday. As Garfield would say, "Big, fat, hairy deal." I don't FEEL any older. I guess it's possible that my hair is a little thinner. Was that wrinkle there last week?...

Actually, I feel like I'm on top of my game. After all, males "peak" in their mid-30's...which I guess means I am no longer in my "early" 30's. Nope, I'm half-way to 70...one-third of the way to 105....look out Willard Scott.

My 2-year-old daughter stomped into our bedroom this morning and said, "Happy Birffday, Daddy!"

So you know those cards that tell you what happened during the year you were born? I hate those things. Not because they make one feel old but because no one actually REMEMBERS the year they were born. I know I don't remember being born.

This is a good thing because I'm sure I would not have liked it. I don't even like getting out of our nice, warm bed in October to hit the cold bathroom floor. I don't even like squeezing my head through a T-shirt that's too small. I really don't even like taking my shirt off at the beach, let alone being naked in room full of people.

I DO, however, remember being 10-years-old. Let's look at the year 1981....

- The hostages in Iran were freed (I remember my mother letting me stay home from school to watch it on TV......moms are the best!)

- Pope John Paul II was wounded by some crazy gunman

- President Reagan was wounded by some crazy gunman (hmm, is there a theme here?)

- A stamp cost $0.18

- The L.A. Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series (I KNEW I liked being 10)

- A little TV channel went on the air called MTV

- A little video game swept across the country called Pac-Man

- IBM introduced a strange little thing called a " personal computer" (actually, it was a huge device that would NEVER fit on your lap)

- The FDA approved of a sweetener called aspartame (NutraSweet), my wife and I haven't been the same since (thank you, Diet Coke).

- The Grammy for Record of the Year (you see records were these round things...oh forget it) went to Christopher Cross for "Christopher Cross"

- Miss America was Susan Powell (OK)....er, I mean she WAS OK, but she was from Oklahoma

- Best Picture, "Ordinary People" (I have no idea what this was about but I'm guessing it was about people that were.....ordinary)

When I was 10, I walked 5 minutes across the street to school. Now, I drive 30 minutes to work...on a GOOD day with no traffic. Back then, I worried that my mom forgot to put a dessert in my lunch. Now, I worry that that goofball in North Korea is going to Nuke someone. Back then, my "baby" brother was 3 years old. Now, he's going to be 28...and he's taller than I am. How does THAT happen? Back then, my dad would throw the football around with me in his work clothes after he got home. Now, I toss the lacrosse ball around with my 9-year-old daughter and kick the soccer ball around with my 2-year-old daughter...in my work clothes.

Back then, girls were still kind of gross. Now, my wife is my best friend, my kids are my life...and life is good. Watch out 40, here I come!