Penblwydd Hapus

So, another year comes knocking at my door. This year, I have to admit, feels very different. I don’t feel I should celebrate the birthday, more use it as an excuse to do nothing. I have taken the day off today. I plan to do nothing, maybe pop to the shops or a pint in the pub this evening, but not a lot else.

With the weather outside being positively Welsh, I don’t really want to go out much. In fact the past year has changed me significantly, although not for the better or worse. I have become an expert on whooping cough, something that blighted 8 months of the past 12. I wake up daily to find more blood on the pillow, and a bad taste in my mouth. I have had more cars in the past 12 months then I’ve had in the past 5 years. I have learnt to have patience with repairing them, and to reap the rewards of the patience. I have lost faith in my local police force, now “falling into line” as opposed to knowing that the law will back me up.

I am no longer the boy. In my father’s words, “I’m grown up.” I have a child in secondary school, I drive a Volvo, and I prefer a night in with a bottle of Soave and good food. I’ve become cynical, almost disdainful. I look upon people as friends, and friends as people. I’ve realised life isn’t worth worrying about, it’s only worth living. I’ll carry on in my same casual manner, but now I will be unflappable.

There’s no point getting upset, it just makes things worse.