Today I turned 50. It’s an odd thing. I sure don’t feel 50. I’m in perfect health. Apparently that mumbo jumbo about good diet and exercise actually works.
Today the radio and newspapers will report my age as if it is news. Throughout the weekend, strangers will see me from a distance, mouth “happy birthday” and smile. I’ll enjoy it every time.
When I was 20, I wondered what it would be like to be 50. None of my guesses were close. I assumed that “aging” was automatically bad, so I didn’t look forward to it. No one told me that having more friends and fewer zits would feel like a good tradeoff. And if you told me I could have my twenty-year old body again, but I had to take my twenty-year old brain with it, I’d pass.
My cat Sarah is sitting near my feet, as she has every day for the past eighteen years of my cartooning career. She spends the first ten minutes of my day yelling at me to pet her before I do anything productive. I hate the distraction, but not as much as I love it. Today she’ll get a little extra petting.
I love my wife. I love my family. I love my job. I love my life. And I love you too, even when you’re grumpy. And I love being 50.
Here’s what I want you to do for my birthday. Send someone an e-mail and tell them how much you appreciate them, or love them. Do it right now. Then tell me about it in the comments. That’s what I want. It’s my birthday so you have to do it.
Go.