It's coming and I'm in just a wee bit of denial about it...

When the clock strikes midnight in just a couple of hours, I'll be 28. The rituals have already begun. Today at work, I brought in a cake, there were balloons and general well-wishes. I've no doubt that tomorrow my mother will call and begin the conversation by describing what her day was like on that fateful June 10 of 1977. I'm sure I'll spin something by Judy Garland - it's her birthday, too, after all. A dinner and some fun with alcohol and a few of my local friends are planned for tomorrow night. A week-long visit to a non-local friend begins Saturday afternoon. The age I am swiftly approaching doesn't scare me one bit. I am reasonably sure this birthday will rock.

So what's the problem, you ask? Well...there is no problem - and I'm kind of at a loss.

You see, I was once prone to throwing elaborate parties, complete with streamers and themes and occasionally costume requirements. My last few birthdays have been ignored for all sorts of reasons. Not much celebrating was to be had. This year I will be surrounded only by people I love and who love me back - folks who have my best interests at heart and for whom I feel the same. I am more stable in almost every way - finances, emotions, housing - than I have ever been. I finally like the way I look in clothes and in pictures again. My love of the written word and spilled onto the internet in the form of this tiny little blog you are reading right now. I can't complain about anything at this moment of my time on Earth.

What a hell of a birthday gift. Thanks for sharing in it with me. Here's hoping everyone's can be this good at least once.

This post was sponsored by the Blow Out the Candles Committee.