Happy Birthday to you.
You look like a monkey,
and you smell like one too.

That's how it goes, right? I'm trying to recall the birthday traditions of my youth in order to pass them down to the boys. You see, summer is birthday season for our clan. Bear was July 24. Pop is Aug 8. Big Sis is Aug 9. Mom is Aug 10. And today? Well, today is when I officially turn twice as many years old as I was when I graduated high school.

Spooky. I don't feel 34. I certainly don't act it. I mean, 34 is so...adult. Heck, I spent a good chunk of last night playing Wario World on the Newly Restored Ultra Incredibly Cool Nintendo Brand Game Cube! Until I had to stop to rescue Burger from a nightmare and spent a half hour rubbing his tummy and talking him down until he could sleep again. Heck, as soon as I post this I'm going to fire up another game. Probably Medieval: Total War. Until the rugrats wake up, of course. Then I'll go upstairs, wipe butts as necessary, assist as needed with AM tooth cleansing, help the older ones pick out clothes, dress up the little guy, do the 4 dwarfs walk downstairs (Hi ho, hi ho, it's down the stairs we go.), get the breakfasts going, etceteras.

Taking an inventory we have: slowly thinning hair, minivan, "Dad" job, whole life, term life, medical, dental, renters, auto, supplemental life, clean house, 3 kids, Lovely Wife. When Lovely Wife went to New Orleans, G offered to take me to his favorite ballet club. (Ballet club is a Buffalo euphamism for the Canadian Ballet, or strip club.) My response was how about 6 Flags instead?

Damn. I am growing up.