Wednesday, January 18, 2012

My Best Gift Ever!


It's that time of year again in case you have forgotten…I remind my family members on Christmas Day that it is 25 days until my birthday. It is a way for me to do a quick tally of what I have received for Christmas and then forward the missing items to my birthday wish list. In all fairness, as I get older, there are less things to write down. There aren't that many commercial items that I need or want. I'm really not that guy that has everything because I don't. I'd like a new truck or at least have it fixed but it doesn't seem like a reasonable gift to ask for. Not that I haven't tried…neither Santa or a dear friend has bought me that BMW Z3 I have always wanted.

This year I wanted to rehash an older present/idea that my wife had given me; it was the birthday week. Yes I want another! It was kind of like Hanukkah, with a present every night and there were candles. That is where the similarities stop. Although I have never experienced Hanukkah, I can only imagine it was like this. I did not need seven consecutive days or more stuff, considering I have a bunch of stuff I all ready don't use. Instead, my birthday gift each night consisted of a different event, centered on a thematic meal. Ok, there are some things I don't need in there like the extra calories.

I loved this idea because it reflects my thoughts, lifestyle and art. To package it neatly, it is like my paintings; a mixture of ideas that capture a moment in time. Philosophically stated it has to be that precise, present time it was created. That piece of art couldn't be created before or after it had to be created in that moment of the present. Ok think about that for a second...did anyone hear that tree fall in the woods?

For me it is about breaking up time and turning them into small meaningful events. After all we don’t remember days we remember moments. Some of the events become special and memorable others fall by the wayside of the daily grind. For instance, as a family we took the ordinary dinning experience and turned it into a moment - we all cooked dinner together. The girls made soup, Nicolas made cocktails, my wife made the main meal and I supervised. I’m not sure who will remember it but it went down in my book as A OK!

As my birthday gets closer I thought to myself, how I didn't want a big party. Good thing too because as far as I know nobody planned a big party for me. As of Monday it seems like I got my birthday wish my birthday week started Monday, I saw War Horse with my oldest daughter. There are memorable moments planned for the rest of the week, I’m not sure what they are but my calendar has been sectioned off. Personally I am hoping my wife gives me a birthday month but I don’t see that happening. I believe it's kind of like the Genie saying for your third wish you can’t wish for more wishes. Shhhhhh…I think I hear the sound of one hand clapping.

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