troubling birthdays

Some birthdays come and go without a lot of emotion.

Others are deeply troubling.

Forty was a jolt to me. Sixty was another.

Daughter had one of those snappy birthdays this year. She will be alright, but it will take a bit of thinking to get back on top of it all.

Right now we have one daughter who is in treatment for cancer, one who just lost her job, another who had a birthday. I have not heard from the 4th in the last bit, so I assume the best for us.

All of this is a reminder that life is not fair. It is not always good, but it does go on. Every time daughters or granddaughters have a birthday, I have one too, funny how that works. We are all inexorably heading toward older.

It is good to think about these things for a moment now and again, but only for a moment.

There are kids to hug and food to make and eat. There are friends to hang with, camps that we have not visited. There are mountains to climb (if only figuratively) there are rivers to run.

Life may have a serious twist often, but it is up to us to find the joy.

It is there, I promise.