Many people dread milestone birthdays, but I have rarely had a year start off so well. Although my birthday wasn't until Monday, festivities started on Friday when Alison, Oscar, and I went backcountry skiing (see photo) and then Ali took me out for dinner at our favorite Richmond restaurant (I had the Steak Frites). Saturday I had to work, but when I walked in the door (five minutes late) all my coworkers had a donut waiting for me with candles. After they sang their rendition of Happy Birthday to You (it was rousing, let me assure you), I made my wish -- "I want snow on my birthday" -- and blew out the candles. Saturday night, Alison threw a great party for me here at our house. What a great time. Not only did she tidy up to the point that I thought I had walked into the wrong house when I first got home, she and the other party-goers made tons of great food. (While it was all amazing, the highlight may have been Jenni's "Death by Chocolate." Wow.) Again, there were candles and singing; again, I wished for snow on my birthday. Sunday, I took a rare weekend day off and, before a birthday dinner (jumbalaya) with my dad and Jill, ran 10-miles with Ali, Oscar, and our running group -- in the rain in 35 degrees. It sucked. BUT... it was a celebration of Jan Leja's 400th organized Sunday group run. So afterwards, we all forgot about how much it stunk running in freezing rain and went to breakfast...... where through the windows we watched the rain turn over to snow. It snowed all day and all night. And all day the next day -- my official 40th birthday! See? Birthday wishes do come true, so take them seriously. Driving to work, the interstate was the worst I have ever seen it. I called Alison and told her not to go to work. Alison called her boss, who invoked the "Powder Day Rule" and the two of them came to Stowe for the day with friends Patrick and Sarah. Work was like play, so I got to make a bunch of runs in unbelievable snow. All told, it was Vermont's 5th largest snowstorm ever -- and the biggest in March history. Happy Birthday to me! Anyway, then I went to Monday night hockey where many players seemed to have been scared off by the snow. However, although many weren't there to witness it, I scored what is known as a Birthday Hat Trick... that's right: 3 goals on one's birthday.
Moral of the story: for those who haven't turned yet, get psyched. 40 is the bomb!
