The day of my birth - a painful day...for my mother, that is

August 17th.  The day of my birth.  This is the day, many years ago, that I emerged from my mother's womb kicking and screaming and covered with birthy gunk.  Everyone reacts differently on their birthdays.  For me, I tend to get really quiet and contemplative, almost going into a monk-like trance for the week leading up to 8/17.  It's a yearly ritual that I go through, taking mental notes of my life progress and reflecting upon various definitions of purpose and meaning.  Have I been more happy than not happy this past year?  Did I smile more than I frowned?  Was I a helpful and giving person more than I was a selfish butthole?  Am I doing what I am supposed to be doing?  Ahhh, so is the human condition.  Since the beginning of cognitive time, humans have gone through an infinite variation of "this".  And though we can read every book under the sun theorizing life's purpose and meaning, the reality is, we all go through our own version of it, making all sorts of mistakes and continually reinventing the wheel one life after another.  OK, enough of that monk-like jibber jabber.

I share this day in good company.  If there was no August 17th, Donnie Wahlberg would not have been born and there would not have been the "New Kids On The Block".  If there was no August 17th, Davey Crockett would not have walked the earth...and the wild animals would have reigned supreme.  If there was no August 17th, Jiang Zemin would not have existed and the big, thick, black glasses trend would never have swept the People's Republic of China or the world for that matter.

These were great people.  However, behind every great person, there was an even greater mother.  So today, I do something different.  Today, I dedicate my birthday to my mother, the one who endured a 9 hour labor due to my larger than average head and, most impressively, a 20+ year cancer survivor.  Thank you mama for squirting me out into this world.   Happy "giving birth day" to you!!!

This is a picture of my mama in Peru, basking in the sun with her friend the lama.