If you’re one of those sharp-eyed folk, you’ll have noticed I did not send an email the past two days—August 30th and 31st.
There is a reason.
And it is that Kayte and I take our birthdays seriously.
And those are our birthdays. First mine, then Kayte’s.
I’m 44 now…do I look taller?
I recently read a snide comment on LinkedIn. The post author had written, “For my birthday, I’d love it if you could do X.”
The commenter said, of the author, “What is he 12?”
Implying that being an “adult” meant not celebrating one’s birthday. This made me sad.
In a world with so much pain and befuddlement, we should celebrate every occasion we like. Nothing too small—nor too big!
Yes, birthdays are markers of arbitrary happenstance.
So are all the other holidays!!
The whole calendar’s made up. The names. The dates. What’s important, why, and to whom. So why the hell not celebrate your birthday?!
This being the first birthday season since I started writing daily, I misjudged how out of the flow and routine I’d be. Every year I think, “I should just book all of August off.” I never act on it. Maybe I should?
As my gift to you, here are two pictures of Mt. Fuji I took in 2008 on a flight from Nagoya to Tokyo.
I’ve wanted to use them for a while but never had a reason.
Since it’s my birthday post, I decided I don’t need one.
Like it’s 1999,
James
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