Digressions: My Life in 500 Words or Less

A week ago I turned 62 and celebrated with a few friends. So? You might ask. What's the big deal about turning 62? That's not a milestone or anything.

But that's just it: the thing that made my non-milestone birthday celebration worth mentioning is the same thing that kept me from celebrating an actual milestone birthday with friends a couple of years ago.

You see, when I hit my milestone 60th birthday in 2020, the world was smack dab in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though I had an enjoyable celebration with my sweetie, Rebecca, at home, we were not hosting any gatherings as we usually would. That meant no parties with friends. That meant no parties with karaoke. That meant no parties.

The same went for last year, 2021. Party-less.

Back in 2020, the 60th birthday milestone was the focus of my blog, despite the limits the pandemic placed on how I celebrated it. In fact, in that blog post I pointed out how much I preferred to celebrate at home with just Rebecca than risk exposure to and/or spread of the virus.

So this year marked the first time in a couple of years that I felt comfortable inviting others to a birthday gathering. Only a few guests could make it, but the occasion was a milestone in that it existed at all.

There was a party. And there was karaoke.

And there was a glimmer of hope that maybe — just maybe — things are slowly getting back to some semblance of normal.

And that’s another milestone worth celebrating.