My 10th birthday

Tomorrow morning, the alarm clock will go off. I’ll rub my eyes and probably hit the snooze. Banjo the dog will snore and I’ll lie there, looking at my alarm clock. I’ll stumble out onto the back porch, scratching my head and try to sneak a peek at the sunrise. It will be a normal day. It will be my 10th birthday.

There won’t be a birthday cake. No party hats.  No songs.  I’m not sure anyone else in the house will even notice. I’ll just go through my day like a normal Sunday.  At 5:30 p.m., I’ll stop what I am doing and quietly say a little prayer.  A prayer to thank the Lord for ten years of life.  Life since I got the call. The call from my doctor on April 17, 2001 diagnosing me with malignant melanoma.

I’m blessed to be here.  And I hope that I’ve used that blessing well.  I know somedays I haven’t.  There has been too much waste. Fear. Sloth.  Anger. Depression and anxiety. I need to work on that.  But don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful. Very grateful for each of the  315,569,260 seconds of it.

Then I’ll hug my three boys and my wife.  I’ll seize my gift (time) and make the most of it. And then I look forward to another trip around the sun.