So Sing It With Me

Birthdays for April 24th are Richard Donner, Shirley MacLaine, Barbara Streisand, Cedric The Entertainer, Djimon Hounsou, Chipper Jones, Eric Balfour, Kelly Clarkson, my friend Melanie Randall, and ME!

When I was younger, I never really gave much thought about what my life would be like in my thirties. I figured that by now I would at least be married, and God seems to have spared me from that for the time being. I have learned how to get into debt, and I am learning how to get out of it. I have learned that if you aren't happy where you are, it is time to change, and change now, not later. I am learning to trust and lean on God because I need to, not because I feel like I have to.

And if you haven't figured it out by now, I have been running birthdays every day since my birthday is in April. Just wanted to know what kinds of company I have been keeping. I also thought it would be interesting to carve out a portion of my life to see what is going on, and to see if there is anything that I can do to be better as an individual and as a friend.

Here at the condo, I have a coffee table that is in front of the new couch. It is a table that was in my grandfather's house when I was a little Guy (yep, pun intended). It has a glass top with a wood frame that matches the curves of the table. During certain times of the year, ok, two times a year, it gets used and the rest of the time it has pictures of my neice under the glass. Wait. I guess that would mean that it gets used year 'round. Anyway, during the month of December, I put old Christmas cards under the glass for a festive feel. During the month of April, I place old birthday cards under the glass.

As a result, there are a couple of birthday cards that have become my favorites over the years. The first is one that my sister gave me:





The second is one that my friend Melanie gave me:




(Hmmm...for whatever reason, the scanner is having a hard time scanning in color...it looks really bad...but black and white looks great...go figure)

It has been really neat to share a birthday with somebody that I know and love. I am a year older and wiser than Mel, and she is a year younger and will always be easier on the eyes than me. She is also a candyaholic. Her eyes literally light up in the presence of anything sweet. The year we turned 30, I sent her some 30th birthday toilet paper, a black badge that said she had turned 30, and a box of Goo Goo Clusters. A few years back, I ran into her father, and it was a few days after 4/24, and I asked him what he got Mel for her birthday. He said, "When was her birthday?" I said, "April 24th, same day as mine." He had TOTALLY forgotten about it. Good times.

Well, time for bed.

Talk to you tomorrow.