On turning 34

Well it’s after midnight, so I guess that means this is now officially the 4th of July, and, my 34th birthday. It means that we get to wake up in the morning and prepare for the annual McBride family gathering at our house, which isn’t too bad. With that being an annual tradition, the 3rd has sort of become the day Angela and I spend celebrating by ourselves. Tonight that involved her taking me to a new place for dinner. Paul’s 5th Avenue is right on the corner of our street, yet we had never bothered to check it out before tonight. Oh what we have been missing! Delicious Italian food like I haven’t had since moving from NYC. Angela had the Chicken Parm, while I went with the Angel Hair with Gorgonzola Pollo. It was so freaking good! After a bit of a break at home we then ventured off to see the fireworks. Luckily for us, our neighborhood has a nice park with a view of downtown just 3 blocks away. Going there beats the heck out of messing with all the downtown traffic, what with half a million people being downtown for the show. She wrote more about it on her blog. If you want more firework details go there, and then come back!

Now it’s late, and, like most years, I get to spend a little time being reflective. What does turning 34 mean? Not much really. It’s not an overly significant age, it puts me fairly close to 35, but even that isn’t a big deal. It’s 4 years since I turned 30 though, and that’s something. I remember turning 30 vividly. I had gotten divorced the year before, had only been off medication for a short while, was still very unsure of how healthy I was, and was still very much seeking for the correct path for my life to take. I remember running into a friend who told me turning 30 was the best thing that could happen to me right then, because my 20’s were filled with trying to do what was expected of me, or what I thought I was supposed to do. Now that I had screwed that up, I could go on and make a new start at 30, and do whatever I wanted to do with my life. That’s some of the best advice I have ever gotten from anyone. Thanks, Bruce, wherever you are! 🙂

Now it’s four years later and I see the path my life has taken over these 4 years. I’ve lived my life as well as I could, experienced some of the highest highs, and even some relatively low points. It’s not the life that I envisioned for myself at my 30th birthday, it’s better. At 30, I had given up on love, and would have been content just to have a good job, a few good friends, some people who I could trust, some hobbies I enjoyed, etc. That would have been enough for me, and would have represented such a comfortable, safe life, that it appealed to me greatly after all of the shit that was packed into my first 30 years on Earth. I still believe that I could have been content with that life, but I’ve taken some chances, I’ve made some “unsafe” choices and have been rewarded in ways that exceed anything I could have imagined. I’ve fallen deeply in love and committed to share my life with someone who loves me better than I deserve. I’ve been places and seen things that I never could have imagined, I’ve laughed and cried with friends who love me, who accept me, and who want nothing more from me than to enjoy the friendship they have with a healthy Michael. I’ve learned more in the last few years than at anytime in my adult life, and I’ve discovered a whole new wealth of people through my websites who share my interests, my passions, and teach me new things everyday. In short, as I turn 34 today, I have to consider myself a very lucky, and a very blessed man.

I thank you all for blessing me, and my websites with your knowledge, and your passion. Have a wonderful Independence Day! (Or for you Canadian folks, hope you had a wonderful Canada Day on the 1st!)