And just like that. I am 38 years old. A birthday is much more than an occasion to receive gifts. It's a chance to celebrate and to give thanks. It's a special occasion to rethink life, to reflect on the past, evaluate the present and make plans for the future. A birthday is a transition from what was to what can be. It's a spiritual refresher.37 was a difficult year for me. I wrote about (most of) it in my 2019 Year in Review blog.
"Life can be difficult, unfair and tough to understand. If I had to use a word to describe our 2019, it would be strength. We had to find strength to experience the highs and we had to find strength to get through the lows. Triathlon provides us with many life lessons but in 2019, life hit us hard. Throughout the year, there were several occassions when our hobby of triathlon was put to the aside in order to deal better with the hard times. As athletes, it can be difficult to stay positive, hopeful and focused during stressful, sad or difficult situations. Uncomfortable feelings can leave us with doubt, anger and anxiety. Struggle to balance stressors appropriately and health (mental or physical), joy for sport and motivation can quickly diminish. There were times throughout the year where it was difficult to start a workout. There were even times when we debated about not starting a few of our races. With each workout or race, our strength was tested. And life presented us with a lot of moments to see how strong we really are."
And here I am. 38 years old and experiencing a new normal of life that is sometimes filled with uncertainty, stress and worry. But yet I've lived another year and I have another opportunity to live life to its fullest. As I do every year on my birthday, I will take stock of my life, the people in my life and most importantly, express gratitude and thanks for the opportunities and experiences I've been given, the memories I've been able to make and my health and well-being. A birthday is not just a day but thousands and thousands of days put together.
As I celebrate the coming of age in another year of life, I'll share my answers to 38 "this or that" questions about my favorite things.
- Almond butter or peanut butter? Peanut butter
- Pop music or rock music? Pop music
- Stuffed animals or dolls? Stuffed animals
- Morning or evening? Morning
- Breakfast or dinner? Breakfast
- Summer or winter? Summer
- Road trip or plane ride? Road trip
- Snow or water? Water
- True love or $10 million? True love
- Book or movie? Movie
- Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla
- Free coffee or free Wifi? Free wifi
- Comedy or drama? Comedy
- Reading or writing? Writing
- Singing or dancing? Dancing
- Flowers or trees? Trees
- Phone or computer? Computer
- Gold or silver? Silver
- Adventure or relax? Adventure
- Blueberries or strawberries? Blueberries
- Wing it or plan it? Plan it
- Watch or play sports? Play sports
- Pasta or pizza? Pizza
- Ocean waves or rain sounds? Ocean waves
- Babies or old people? Old people
- Time machine or magic wand? Time machine
- Shorts or pants? Shorts
- Amusement park or nature park? Nature park
- Crushed ice or cubed ice? Crushed ice
- Serious or funny? Funny
- Outside or inside? Outside
- Pancakes or pastries? Pancakes
- Pretzel or chips? Pretzels
- Luxury hotel or Airbnb? Airbnb
- City life or beach life? Beach life
- Loud or quiet? Loud
- Proactive or procrastinator? Proactive
- Life is good or life could be better? Life is good
Bonus questions:
- Dogs or cats? Dogs
- Netflix or amazon prime? Netflix
- Sensitive or tough? Sensitive
- Open minded or close minded? Open minded
- Indecisive or decisive? Decisive
- Idealistic or realistic? Realistic
- Hair up or hair down? Hair up
- Dinner out or dinner in? Dinner in
- Gifts or experiences? Experiences
- Speak to animals or speak every language? Speak to animals
- Farm or zoo? Farm
- Jeans or dresses? Dresses
- Neutrals or colorful? Colorful
- Sunbathe or get in the water? Get in the water
- Socks or barefoot? Barefoot
- Speak my mind or choose my words? Choose my words
- Twitter or Facebook? Facebook
- Neat freak or organized? Organized