My Birthday Weekend

Christmas must be approaching quickly as it's time again for my birthday. Other than the obligatory knock down drag out party I will have this weekend, it seems this weekends festivities will be nice and low key. I still find it interesting to sit back and examine how the dynamic of my friendships change with time. Looking back on the years I've had and the experiences that time has provided, it always amazes me to grow up just a little more. One more rung up on the ladder, gaining yet another vantage to view from. My ever changing values structure, shifting this way and that. Watching life change around me, as friends marry and start their own families. Adding more people to the party. Creating a larger more extending family then before. Spouses and maybe kids now attend our functions, before maybe a fleeting girlfriend would wonder through, gone just as quick as she arrived, on the next. "What was her name again?" "Never mind her, meet Liz, she's the new one."

I've always thought of my life in the context of a story. Weighing somethings on whether or not they would add an interesting chapter to my life as a book. Wondering if "this" would be a good story to tell me children, would they learn anything from it. Will they think daddy's crazy for leaving everything and starting medic school. Will they even comprehend this train of thoughts.

As I look back at another year spend, I'm happy. I don't think I've squandered to much time. I've taken the time to smell the roses and enjoy the warmth of sun on my face. Wrestled this my nieces and let the dogs lick my face. I'm content.

Oh The Holiday Rush

I know I'm not alone when I say, damn the holidays are busy. It seems as if the population triples, people are everywhere. More on the roads, at the grocery store and of course at any retail shopping center. Even the hole-in-the-wall places that I go to cannot escape the masses.

The one thing that has been fairly slow is our call volume. The ice and snow covered roads have not produced their yield of car accidents, Thanksgiving did not send anyone to the hospital for heart attaches, no tried to pull the plug on themselves. Average citizens might believe that it is the holiday spirit keeping everyone safe, I put more stock into human nature. As we know the tides will turn. I express no ill will to any one, but a little excitement might be nice.

Due to the shackles of a normal day job I was unable to join in the festivities of our latest house fire. Which really pissing me off. Working close to home has advantages, but the fact that the pager picks up the tones sometimes is not one of them. Sure I get to listen and laugh at some calls, and cringe at others.

On the bright side I hooked up with an outfit that will allow me to function as a fire instructor in live burns. Which is awesome.