43

I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Today I am celebrating yet another anniversary of my birth - 43 years ago today, in a hospital in Trenton NJ. I think the quote above by Eleanor Roosevelt is so true - I can't live life backwards, I have to look forward, and live life to the fullest.

And with four kids and a beautiful wife, living life to the fullest is not a problem!

I am using the day to respond to a couple of memes that I've been tagged with:

My friend Carrie, famously known as the Ginger Lemon Girl, has started a special new blog call Heart of a Servant. She tagged me to write about five of my favorite things,and then tag five others to do the same. How wonderful! I will post those here.

Over at the GFCF Experience, I wrote about yet another tag, this one from Sea at Book of Yum. She tagged me to write seven weird things about myself. My things weren't so weird, but you can read them here.

So, before I get started, I want to share something I also shared over at the GFCF Experience, some people whom I share a birthday with you may or may not know:

Norman Lear (Creator of All in the Family, among others)
Bill Engvall (I know I've deserved a lot of signs over the years!)
Paul Levesque (better known to WWE fans as Triple H)
Maya Rudolph (SNL)
Alex Rodriguez (yes, THE A-Rod)

and, of course, Bugs Bunny.

On with the meme! I think I'll do favorite things from five different categories:

1. Favorite time of year: Autumn. I just love the crispness of the air, the golden colors of the leaves, and all the wonderful fruits and vegetables that come in season that time of year.

2. Favorite holiday: Christmas. It is just so festive. And there is nothing more magical than watching the eyes of a child light up as they open their presents. And yes, I do still believe in Santa Claus - I know him personally.

3. Favorite thing about Missoula, MT, where I live: Missoula is an amazing town to live in, and I love that you have literally endless recreational opportunities within a two hour drive: several ski areas, hundreds of trails, Rattlesnake National Recreation Area, the National Bison Range, Flathead Lake...the list goes on and on.

4. Favorite foods: The running joke in the house is that I like anything that begins with the letter P - peanuts, pistachios, popcorn, pretzels, peaches, pineapple...

5. Favorite thing about life: There is no greater joy than that which comes from being a parent. Yes, it's not easy, and it is sometimes quite maddening. But at the end of every day, I can look in on my children peacefully sleeping, and and recognize and thank God for the miracle they truly are. I wouldn't change it for the world.

Now, who to tag, who to tag...

I tag:

Katherine, the GFCF Mommy

Queen Bee, from Diary of an Autism Mom

J, from Austin's Autism Journal

T, from Send Chocolate

Trish, from Another Piece of the Puzzle

Thanks to those of you who read this blog. I really appreciate your support.

Looking ahead to a wonderful year!