Round and round my mind goes

So today marks my 30th birthday. It’s something I haven’t celebrated since I turned 21. I think after that “landmark” age, it wasn’t as important to me. Then on my 25th birthday, I had a bit of a quarter-century life crisis. Now at 30, I feel comfortable with myself. Sad to say, but it’s taken 30 years to get to this point.

Are there things I’d like to change? Of course. I wish I were 50 pounds lighter and 15 years younger. But I wouldn’t change all the positive things that have happened to me these past 30 years. I’ve grown up through the Berlin Wall falling down, the attacks of 9-11, Presidents being shot, and Space Shuttles exploding. So many thing have happened in my life, some good, some bad, I’ve come out a better, stronger person.

I’ve survived my parents being divorced. For me, it was easy. They talked to each other and were civil to each other. They still talk today. I survived my father raising me. He was great at cooking fried foods and watching TV during dinner, but he taught me about life and how to be a good man. I survived my mother’s bought with Multiple Sclerosis. She still suffers the effects to this day and has done amazingly well. I survived a long list of bad relationships with women. Thankfully I found a wonderful wife that taught me how to be a boyfriend, fiancé, husband, and father. I survived my in-laws and the wedding that joined us. While initial opinions were dreary, they’ve turned out to be as weird as my family. I’ve survived countless funerals and weddings. I wish I didn’t have to go to either of them. I survived the birth of my child. Likely the hardest thing I’ve had to endure in my life. But it's so much fun now!

This past Sunday (2 days ago) marked the 12 year mark for Yvonne and I being a couple. I had just ended one of those crazy relationships (I’ll keep the names private to protect the innocent – if there were any) during my freshman year of college (in Edinboro University of Pennsylvania). I had seen this “hot girl” that had a preppy look (not so much preppy as out of my league with the pretty jewelry) around and had become friends of friends. There was a large group of us that hung out in a pack (safety in numbers). We’d eat lunch and dinner together and hang out when time allowed. So my roommate was kind enough to “leave the room” one night when we were watching Hook.

That’s when we first held hands. It was like lightening struck. I had butterflies in my stomach. We were engaged a few years later, then married shortly after that. We’ve moved from a dorm in Edinboro, to a single room apartment (two if you count the bathroom) in Edinboro, to a 2 bedroom apartment in Shelby (North Carolina), to our 3 bedroom house in King George (Virginia). Yvonne went from an undergrad student, to a grad student, to a teacher, to a reading specialist. I went from an undergrad student to a baker’s assistant in a grocery store, to a shipping clerk in a bookstore, to a tech support agent for a software company.

To celebrate our anniversary (and my birthday to some extent) we went to one of our usual haunts to see CATS (at the Riverside Dinner Theater). It was one of the best productions I’ve seen them produce since we’ve been there. And here’s a list of what we’ve seen there:

Season IV
- The King and I

Season V
- Guys and Dolls
- Annie Get Your Gun
- Oliver
- Fiddler on the Roof

Season VI
- Gypsy
- Showboat
- West Side Story

Season VII
- Oklohoma
- Man of La Mancha
- Scrooge
- Brigadoon

Season VIII
- Kiss Me Kate
- Big River
- The Sound of Music
- Ragtime

Season IX
- The Music Man
- CATS
- Nunsense (yet to be seen)
- Bye, Bye Birdie (yet to be seen)

Which brings me to Monday. What a day. I come in early to get things ready for Customer Service Week and end up getting micro-managed about what my priorities should be. I’ve been here long enough to know what the priorities are. And this week, it’s Customer Service Week. I have over 200 people relying on my skills to motivate them. Don’t de-motivate me.

But enough depressing stuff. It’s my birthday. I should enjoy it, right? I have a family that loves me, a house that keeps me warm and dry, and plenty of food to eat. All is good.

Here’s to another 30 years.