43

It wasn't bad.

Almost refreshing that my 43rd birthday came and went with mild hysteria.

My 40th was a bash. Probably not as big as the 50th will be. My 9-yr old Michael will be driving when I hit the half-century mark.

Hard to imagine. My wife Lori and I got married when I hit 30 then waited a few years to start a family, and now like most couples in my generation, will be watching my 1st child graduate college when I'm 55?!

I was starting to drive when my dad touched 40.

I think of my 2-yr old Cody that will graduate college when I'm 62.

Still, it's like watching my own parents with my youngest brother John. A handsome, strapping, intelligent young man of 25, who works for amazon.com in Seattle.

I remember changing his diapers my freshman year in college. It was quite a gap. My brothers and sister were convinced my parents were trying for another girl. Before John, the scoreboard read: Boys=4 Girls=1.

Lori and I are finished with two. Considering the rest of the family includes horses, dogs and cats, we've got our hands full with two. We even seperated them by about seven years. I tell people we wanted to space out the college payments.

I spent this birthday with the boys. No, not with my friends or guys my own age. I do that whenever, including a boys weekend in Las Vegas once a year to play golf and remind ourselves we're not 21.

No, this birthday was with Michael, Cody and Michael's best friend Kevin.

We swam, tossed the ball around, ate at the Outback Steakhouse and came home to collapse. My wife and I celebrated later. It was one of the best birthdays in a while.

There's something about growing older. Your so busy experiencing life in your 20's, you need to catch up professionally in the 30's, so by the time you reach the 40's you have some idea of what you need to do to get through your 50's in time to enjoy your 60's and beyond. All the while, making sure not to miss what's right in front of you during the trip.

Speaking of that, Cody just woke up from his nap.

A reminder that birthday's are just a day on the calender, while life comes at you every second of every day. Especially when a 2-yr old needs a diaper change.