Birthday Sandwich

Did you say 34 days to celebrate a birthday ?

I have been accused in the past of over-celebrating my birthday.

It all started about 10 years ago when I thought “why not take a couple of days out to party?”

Milestone birthdays for many people offer an excuse for an even bigger event. But to me, every birthday is literally another trip around the sun to be proud of, and the fact is, every year the number gets bigger, and the number of celebrations ahead gets smaller.

Some people say age is just a number, and I’m one of those folks, but the fact is, those numbers do get change inversely.

But like a fine wine, I like to think that we’re all getting better with age. My birthday plans are no exception for 2026. You may disagree with me on the celebration improving, but nobody can deny that they certainly got longer.

Back in October - a full four months ahead of the big day, I started thinking through it.

Without realizing it, the internal decision was made to supersize the 2026 event - and boy did it turn out to be a doozy!

From 27 January, when I boarded the first plane, to 1 March, when I landed back home - that turned out to be 34 days.

Epic, even by my standards.

The goal when I started thinking about it was to visit and spend time with the most important people in my life who are still on the planet.

England was the natural place to start - two people to see, one in the north and one in the south. So, on 27 January, I headed East.

Then back for time at home and the actual day itself.

Nine days later on a plane going West, this time to see my two sons who have both escaped the madness of South Florida and made their homes and careers closer to the International Dateline.

Six places, a bunch of planes and a few trains but no automobiles.

A sandwich with a slice of Europe on the bottom, a birthday filling, and a slice of the Western USA on the top.

34 days to reflect on what has passed, where we are now and what the future might hold.