Approaching 79
Birthdays, whether we choose to celebrate them or dance quietly around their annual arrival, are a gift. After all, they mark the very moment each of us came uniquely into the world—that singular moment when we became part of Earth’s rich planetary amalgam of races, religions, and regions.
On the cusp of 79, I’ve had pause to reflect on the monumental events both personal and political over the past 12 months and to give thought to what opportunities for change lie in the year ahead. A year ago, Kit almost died. But he didn’t. It has been a challenging year during which he has worked hard to regain muscle mass and mobility lost during a three-week hospitalization in September 2023. His amazing progress has taken a village, and we are grateful that the Lodge where he has resided since March 2023 provides the skilled care and support he and our family have needed.
Our son Hayden arrives today from Spain, along with our grandson Nico and granddaughter Ines. Together with our daughter Heidi we will celebrate Kit’s resilient spirit as well as my 79th October 21st birthday and Hayden’s 58th the following day. This family gathering will not be just about us, but rather, it will be a celebration of Kit’s September 2024 rebirthday—the one-year anniversary of his return from the edge of the other side.
Earlier this week, he and I spent an evening at the Lodge filling in our ballots for the November 5th election—no small feat for Kit who a year ago could not legibly write his name. At our combined age of 165, we voted as if our lives depend on it. That task accomplished, we talked about two of my birthdays that came just weeks before a national election.
When I turned 61, Kit asked me to reflect on the year past and the year ahead. “What do want to have happen this year?” he asked. My answer then was “I want Barack Obama to run for President, I want civility and hope to replace chaos in the Middle East, and I want to publish a book of essays about our years at Breakfast Creek.”
On my 79th birthday next week, Kit will ask me the same question and this time my answer will be, “I want Kamala Harris to become America’s first Madame President, I want her administration to bring peace to the Middle East, I want hope and civility to heal our divided nation, and I want to publish a collection of my blogs written since we moved from Missouri to Nevada City in April 2021.
Whatever the current state of the nation, however hostile the world at large, wherever we are in our own journey through life, whatever the shape of our bodies and minds, it behooves us all to reflect on both where we have been and the direction we anticipate life will take us in the coming year. Birthdays are not only markers of age. They are an opportunity each calendar year for us to pause, to reflect, to celebrate life, and perhaps in some small way to make a difference in the world.
