This week, I saw a milestone birthday come and go. I cannot really say that I celebrated it, but I acknowledged its passing. The weather was great all day. I took a walk in the early afternoon and  I went out for a nice dinner and then ate some ice cream. It was pleasant enough.

Birthdays, much like the turning from one calendar year to another, are natural points to reflect on things. What produced the most joy and meaning and so are things I should do more of? Those have been things like the few group dinners that I’ve hosted and volunteering with the children at church. What were the most painful or frustrating things that I should work to avoid? This year those were medical issues and points of friction in repeated workflows. I’m working on the work matters and the medical issues were down to terrible luck, so I’m trying. I could also do better with my vacation planning this year. My big trip last summer didn’t really deliver and the best vacation I took was a short trip to the mountains in the early fall. Maybe I should just try more short trips, though it was more likely about the people than the place.