January is a big month in the Thomson household.  It kind of sucks to tell you the truth, simply because we all have birthdays at the same time.  My wife, brother, sister-in-law and me all have our birthdays in January.  To make it even more complicated, my wife and I are both hitting the 4 -oh this year.  Yea, 40.  Laura's birthday is January 19th, and mine is the 26th.  She is a whole 7 days older than me.  I get a lot of milage out of that every year, and I am especially getting a lot out of it because she will be 40 for 7 days longer than me.  David, my brother, and Wendy my sister-in-law, have theirs on the 15th and 27th respectfully.  Usually we go out all together and celebrate. This year, however with 2 of us turning 40, we are all having separate celebrations. 

So go ahead, say it! Happy birthday.  Bring out the black balloons, the wheel chair, the old fart jokes.  We are grown ups and we can take it.  I know half of you who read this have already been here and the other half, well I hope you get a good laugh, because your day is coming. 

We're not quite sure how we feel about this whole 40 thing.  I mean we both look pretty good and keep our bodies healthy.  We have 2 small children and they are just 1 1/2 and 5.  We are cool.  We still eat our green beans, and broccoli and run when we have the chance.  Sure, we have an extra doctor bill every once in a while, but that is just what happens I guess.  Our Saturdays and Sundays are filled with family time and we are on the go from 6:30 AM till 9 with no down time.  I challenge anyone who still hits the town to have the kind of energy we have all day long. 

There are differences, we don't go to bars that much any more.  A good late night Jack Daniels and a Wine and a movie is all we can really handle- 10:30 tops!  Midnight sounds like hell to us.  Instead, we have to-do- lists, bills, responsibilities, jobs, a new dog to take care of, diapers, and of course laundry and cleaning up.  I gotta tell you though, I wouldn't change it for anything in the whole world and I know Laura wouldn't. 

Being single and living the life in an apartment, with no worries, no responsibilities, sleeping in until 10 AM and going bar hopping until 3 was fun.  I am not going to lie.  The toughest decision we had to make was what  to wear that night and where you were going to watch the college football game.  You know though, it doesn't compare to what we have now.

No, neither of them are bad.  They are just different.  As we get older we have more than a few grey hairs (I trump Laura 10 times on this one) we still feel like a kids.  Where did the time go?  I met an old fraternity brother out last week and he brought it to my attention that we hadn't seen each other in 15 years. I mean are you kidding me?? People auditioning for American Idol are that age!! 

We still feel like we did when when we were 18.  I still remember the great things that every year brought.  As my wife and I turn 40, we look at each other and say we are blessed.  Blessed to have one another, blessed to share the experiences we have had, blessed to have 2 wonderful and healthy children, blessed to live in a lovely home, blessed to have a caring family, blessed to live a christ-centered life, and blessed to have jobs that we love. 

So- we have found the fountain of youth.  We are content in every aspect of our lives.  I don't care what age you are in life, there are good things and bad things.  I used to laugh when my Mother said she would never go back in time, and the years keep getting better as she gets older.  Well, Mom, once again you are right. 

4-oh here we come.  Like it or not.  Cheers to the best years of our lives that lay ahead!  And, Happy Birthday Laura!!!!!!! ( You beat me again).  Love you.

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