Bob Dylan turns 71 today.
Birthday
Send Me A Birthday Smile
I’m going to take a wild guess and suggest that while you may be kind enough to wish me a happy 48th birthday today, you’re unlikely to rush off to my Amazon Wish List to buy me everything my heart desires.
That’s why I’m going to make it easy on you and ask you to do a few things that will make my one day a year very special, while costing you ….. nothing. Well, maybe a little time but these ideas won’t put a dent in your wallet.
Like Me On Facebook
First of all, I’d love to connect with a lot more people on Facebook. I have a public Facebook page that makes that really easy. It’s what Facebook calls a ‘fan page’ but I’m not that much of an egotist that I want you to declare yourself as my ‘fan’. It’s simply just an easy way to share stuff on Facebook. Just head to my Facebook page and click ‘like’.
Share My Posts
Whenever you drop in to my blog, please, please, please feel free to use the little buttons at the bottom of each post to share my posts via Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Delicious, Digg or Reddit. Hey, you can even click the email button to send a copy to your friends. When you share my posts in any, or all, of these wats, more people visit my blog and I smile a lot. Really I do. If you use StumbleUpon I would especially love you to Stumble my posts. You’re more than welcome to spend a few minutes going back over my recent posts and sharing a few.
Comment On My Posts
Don’t just think it …. say it. I love it when people leave comments on my posts. Your comments make me smile big time.
Thank You
So there you are. If you’d like to, and only if you’d like to, you can make me extra happy by folowing a few of the ideas above. Of course I won’t complain if you’d simply prefer to buy me everything on my Amazon Wish List but we both know that’s never going to happen.
Plane Spotting
Monday’s arrived once again. It comes around far too fast. How was your weekend?
Our weekend was pretty busy as we celebrated having a 12 year old at our place. James had a birthday on Saturday so the whole weekend seemed to be spent partying.
One of the great things we did yesterday was to picnic at Jandakot Airport.
Opened in 1963, Jandakot Airport is the major General Aviation Airport in Western Australia, and is the busiest airfield and largest aviation training base in Australia. Three runways, associated taxiways, tenant leased property and natural bush land constitutes an area of 622 hectares, 18 kilometres south of the city of Perth.
The airport provides access for essential service organisations such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service, CALM Forest and Bushfire Patrol and the WA Police Air Support. Jandakot is also an important training base for international airline pilots, with Singapore and China Southern operating flying colleges and student accommodation facilities at the Airport.
There’s a public viewing area with a few benches and shelters. We found a large shaded area under a big tree to throw down the picnic blanket. James and some of his cousins had Star Wars light sabre battles while others of us spent the time plane spotting.
I’m scared of heights but I’ll fly in just about anything. If I had the money I’d look into flying lessons but that’s never likely to happen so it was just wonderful to sit and watch other people taking off and landing. There was quite a range of small to medium sized planes, including a vintage Tiger Moth, using the airport as well as a few helicopters coming and going.
I don’t know how much the kids enjoyed the location but I can’t wait to go back there for another picnic.
47
Time moves on. Hair gets thinner. Skin gathers wrinkles. Eyes don’t see as clearly as they once did. Aches sometimes appear for no reason.
It’s not all downhill. Wisdom grows. Life experience becomes richer. I’ve got so much to celebrate.
I’m the husband of the world’s most wonderful woman, the father of two thoroughly amazing children and a son of the God who put this incredible world together.
It’s been an amazing year with many highs and lows.
Since this day last year I’ve moved house, lost people close to me, met knew friends, strengthened existing friendships, smiled, laughed, cried and faced new challenges. I’ve continued to ponder life’s big issues as well as delighting in simple pleasures.
I’ve got it right on many occasions but on several others I’ve got it so very wrong. Both these situations have taught me lessons that I hope will move me forward.
I know that I have very likely already lived over half of my life which causes me to look back at what has been and what could have been while looking forward to the amazing opportunities that still wait ahead; assuming that I still have many good years left but knowing that each day is a gift.
As I begin a new year I’m grateful for family, friends, love, hope and the opportunity to make my life count. The next twelve months will bring new difficulties, some of which are already emerging, others will take me by surprise. This time next year I hope to have seen new blessings, some of which I can already see and others which will be thrilling surprises. All I really know is that I am in the hands of a creator to whom nothing will come as a surprise. He has already seen the road ahead and will prepare and equip me as I face each new turn.
This fabulous journey we call life continues.
Happy Birthday Mum
I miss my mum …. a lot …. especially on days like today.
If mum had lived she would have turned 90 today. She passed away on the 28th of February, 1987, at the age of just 66.
Please excuse me if I’m a little bit distant from time to time today or if I act a little odd. Well, odder than I usually act anyway.
They say that time heals but I’m not completely convinced. I think the truth may be a combination of healing over time and the the fact that time helps us learn how to cope with missing a loved one.
Memories continue to fade yet a word, a sight or a sound can bring back vivid recollections and a sadness that mum’s not here anymore.
Thankfully we had a good relationship so there are no regrets of things left unsaid or undone.
The best news of all is that we will meet again one day in a place where there will be no more tears and no more pain. I’m not so keen on hastening that day but I do look forward to it …. and it makes me smile.
