Better with Age

Today is Seth's 31st birthday. Unfortunately we both had to work today (following a long weekend vacation...), but we should be able to squeeze in a little more celebrating. Seeing as how I'm a steward of the Birthday Awareness campaign, I thought I should publicly tell him...

Happy Birthday!

and

I Love You!

(And don't worry, I think your salt and pepper hair is sexy.)

Hurry! You don't have much time!

Ok everyone... do you realize today is exactly 3 months til my birthday!? I hope you've already started planning. In fact if you haven't gotten me something already you're WAY behind. I'll be able to tell if you go out and get me a last minute gift. And you better be really quiet about the surprise party because I'll be really ticked if I find out about it.

30 Years of Excellence

This post is a little late for various reasons, but it's something I've been thinking about and really wanted to do. Seth turned the big 3-0 this year on February 9th. As we get older, especially when hitting bigger marks such as this, we tend to evaluate our lives and measure our successes. I want to tell you about all the many wonderful things Seth has accomplished in his thirty years.

Seth is a fountain of knowledge. He is constantly wanting to learn new things and is usually engulfed in many things at once. He reads no less than five books at any given time and is excited about so many different subjects it’s almost unimaginable. During his lifetime, Seth has studied many areas including range science, Spanish, fisheries science, history, and botany. He has an associates degree in electronics with an emphasis in laser optics and is currently working on a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. He has also expressed interest in studying raptor biology, math, business and teaching.

Seth is also an avid hunter and fisherman. He knows just about everything there is to know about the sports and is always willing to share his knowledge. I usually come to him with my hunting and fishing questions because 99% of the time he knows the answer. He’s an excellent marksman and I find it very enjoyable to watch him shoot, whether it’s guns or a bow. Seth is proficient at reading maps. He has a special interest in topographical maps and loves to study them. He is always pointing out different areas on the maps he has and showing me the places he would like to explore. Seth knows a lot about different animals and how to track them. He knows how to do many elk calls, mainly because he has practiced for hours and hours to get them just right. He also knows a lot about fishing techniques and is an excellent teacher. He is very patient with me and has taught me just about everything I know. He really makes it easy to learn because he has such a passion for the things he loves to do that it radiates to everyone around him.

Seth is a great leader. He has a strong countenance that causes people to naturally gravitate towards him. He is always getting people coming to him for direction, advice and comfort, even those he doesn’t even know. The people that know Seth have a great love and respect for him because he has such an inner beauty and peace that is readily shared with others. He is an easy leader to follow because of his strength and knowledge. He shows genuine care and concern for people and this has allowed him to gain many friends.

Seth is very goal oriented. He loves to set goals and gives his all to achieve them. When he sees something he wants, he does everything he can to make it happen. He learned how to play the guitar just because he wanted to and found the avenues that he needed in order to do it. Seth is constantly reassessing his goals and what it will take to meet them. It is not uncommon for him to talk about goals he wants in 5, 10 or even 20 years. He is always looking at the big picture and trying to plan just how he wants things to be.

People tend to think that success is measured by the amount of money you have or how big your house is. While this is one kind of success, it is not the only kind. I can think of many financially successful people who have failed in life. Success can be measured in many ways including talents, knowledge, friendships, and life experience. Seth is very rich in all of these areas and is not only continuously increasing his wealth, but also sharing it generously with others. He has accomplished so much already it is exciting to see what another 30 years might bring.

Happy Birthday sweetie, I love you!

Birthdays

Maybe I'm just not old enough yet, but I still look forward to my birthdays. I don't think it's necessarily the presents that I like, just the notion that it's my own special day. People are just nicer to you on your birthday and you get to be center stage without any effort on your part. Plus you usually get at least one card in the mail that isn't a bill.

Acquaintances usually don't know when my birthday is, but if you're somewhat close to me, I won't let you forget. My reminders may start up to eleven months in advance and include an obscure pop quiz such as "Do you know what today is?" This question is always asked on the 23rd of whatever month it is. I like to ask the question with a tone that makes the person (usually Seth) think that the date is very important and they should know that of course today is exactly say, ten months until my birthday. Seth has gotten pretty good at remembering this trick quiz and usually guesses right on the first try. I also use this pop quiz as a time to ask if my victim has started saving up for my huge present.

Of course all of these non-chalant plugs for my birthday are done in jest, but for the record, nobody ever forgets my birthday.