My wife's birthday

I'm actually entering this on January 15 but I'm post-dating it as January 13 because that is my wife's birthday. I didn't enter this on the right day because I wanted to put a picture of her here and I keep forgetting to get the one I want. When I get it, I'll put it here.

As for all of us, her birthday is both happy and sad. Sad because she is a year older but happy because she is a year older! As the saying goes, it's better to be the age you are than not be able to have a birthday. Another old saying is that your age is only a number. It's trite but it's true. It's not like you magically get more forgetful, less active or heavier on the anniversary of your birth. It's just a reminder of your being that old. It's what happens day to day that makes the difference. And a birthday can be like New Year's Day in the sense that you can use it as a reason for different behaviors and habits that actually help you improve your life.

Cindy got some nice presents (although not as many as she deserves) and a nice cake (made by her mother who used to run the bakery in the local supermarket). She is the love of my life and the one bad thing I see about her new age is that it reminds me of how I wish I had asked her to marry me sooner. We knew each other for a few years before I finally wised up and asked her to marry me. We were married on January 8 partly because her birthday was coming up on the 13th and she didn't want to be one more year older on her wedding.

Cindy was 32 and I was 42 when we were married. In some ways, I'm glad we were older than usual because we were more sure about who we were and what we wanted in a spouse. Also, we were done with our "wild" times and were ready to settle down and start a family and spend our time with the kids instead of running off to be with other adults and leaving the kids with baby sitters. But it would have been nice to share our life when we were more active, too. And it would have been easier to chase around with our children when we were younger. But all in all, I'm glad we got married when we did.

When we got engaged and told all of our friends, one of the fellows in our church sympathized with my not getting married until I was 42. After all, his father didn't get married until he was 48. And he always told his kids, "Don't rush into marriage like I did!"

[Updated -  January 17, 2010, I've uploaded the picture from Cindy's birthday celebration that I originally wanted to include. This picture says a lot about her. She loves her children so much that she wants to include them in everything she does. She is willing to give up anything for her children (even the coveted Birthday Wish) so the children can join in. She's a wonderful mother and a terrific wife.]