Another year...

The calendar tells me that today is my birthday, a day where I get to celebrate another trip around the sun, another year since I made my way into the world and started putting my own ding into the universe.

It's been a year of dings. I've expanded my footprint as a journalist and have managed to get some really cool work done in the process. I've been able to build a personal brand while still finding ways to be in the parking lot when my kid finishes school, or walk the dog with my wife so we can debrief the day and reconnect with each other before we tuck in for the night.

I've done interviews from the beach and I've written entire articles with my thumbs while sitting in my parked car in the middle of a blizzard. I've done live television from my living room with the dog at my feet, and then toddled into the kitchen to make some tea and watch the sun come up.

I got to feed my personal and professional soul this year. It wasn't and isn't easy - flying on your own isn't supposed to be - but that's entirely the point of what I do. Challenge makes it meaningful, and I'd have it no other way.

I was able to pursue, and to a certain extent achieve, balance. And for that I'm profoundly thankful.

It's also been a rough year, and if we're being brutally honest - sorry, as I don't really know any other way - I'm especially glad that I made it to this particular May 8th to celebrate this particular birthday. I probably shouldn't be here at all, yet here I am. Lucky, I guess.

I've had some time to let this insane chapter sink in, and I've come to the realization that too many of us seem to forget that every day is a gift. I was reminded of this very simple fact rather starkly last summer. It's a reminder that sticks with me every moment of every day, and as a result I won't take this day, or any other, for granted again.

These days, I take more time to walk the dog, to enjoy being on the other end of his leash, to talk to my wife, to listen to the sound of Canadian Geese as their wings slice the air above, to suck in whatever is going on around me, however trivial it might seem on the surface. I humbly suggest you consider doing the same. Because nothing is ever really too trivial. Because you just never know.

So as I float through a special day dictated by orbital mechanics, biology and a bunch of ancient scientists who dictated our present-day planetary math, please forgive me if I seem a little more reflective, a little more careful with my words, a little less into the typical celebratory-ness of the typical birthday. Because today's isn't typical. No day is anymore. And from where I sit I figure that's a perfectly fine way to live.

Your turn: What are you thankful for?