I think I caught a twinkle in his eye. "Really? Do we celebrate those anymore?" I had just raised the subject of what we might do on my birthday this year. My resounding answer was "Yes!"

Yes! I am always scanning the horizon for excuses to play, to launch a small adventure, to eat and drink something special in a new place. My birthday is well suited to celebration, coming in midsummer when outdoor opportunities abound. It usually includes a trip or a hike, and always a component of ice cream and beer. Of course we celebrate our birthdays! Why not?

When I look around, I do see some people who say, "Not." Birthdays are for children. Don't make a fuss over me. I don't need any more things (or calories). Most of all, I don't want to acknowledge the accumulation of years. I don't want others to know, and I don't want to admit how hold I really am.

Sixty-six. It is a big number. Neither of my parents came near that birthday. My peers are described in news stories as "elderly." I am now eligible for all the senior discounts. My AARP card is yellowed and frayed with age; even the Medicare card shows signs of wear. And, yes, body parts are speaking up; shoulder surgery signaled that nothing lasts forever.

However, Yes! I do still celebrate my birthday. It is about more than the hike, the ice cream, and the beer. Above all, I celebrate the gift of life and thank those who have made it possible (drumroll please).

I celebrate my parents, who had married secretly and for whom my appearance blew their cover. They welcomed me anyway. They tolerated my childish tantrums and a headstrong desire to get my way. As a young widow and single parent, my mother urged me to leave home, graduate from college, and prepare to support myself as she had been forced to do without preparation.

I celebrate my husband and our son, who have provided a close and supportive family circle that launched the same year that my mother died. Lyle and Jonathan (and now Jennie) are the emotional base camp of safety and support from which I engage the outer worlds of work and community.

I celebrate my family-in-law and the friends who have, over the years, provided a large and reslient network of love, acceptance, and encouragement.  They have enriched the gift of my life with their honesty, patience and profundity.

I celebrate the Universe/Higher Power/God from whose generous hand my life emerged on earth 66 years ago. I am grateful for the gift of spirit, and the impulse to grow in wisdom and grace as well as age. I am grateful for the world's wisdom traditions that help me see life as a meaningful journey in which every experience has its purpose and all things work together for good.

Yes! I want to celebrate! Tomorrow we are taking a hike, having dinner at a new restaurant, and stopping by a new craft brewery on the way home. And, of course, there will be ice cream.

How do you like to celebrate your birthday? And why?