Babies and Birthdays

I had one of those up-all-night-thinking nights last night. I have them a lot for random reasons, but I suppose this one was from it being the eve of my birthday. So cliché right? It’s been a fantastic birthday weekend up to this point. I share the weekend with such notables as Stallone, Dubya, America, and Ringo Starr. It’s a lot to be proud of…?

We spent the 4th in Boulder going to Avery’s tasting room and eating dinner on the Pearl Street Mall. Yesterday we drove into Denver, hung out at the huge REI, the 16th Street Mall, and knocked a couple brews back at the Breckenridge Brewpub. When we returned, we had some delicious food waiting for us out on the patio and most delightful of all was the DQ ice cream cake! It had been so long. I remember gazing at those glass cases full of unattainable cakes when I was a kid. Take that, childhood dreams. I’m not sure what today will bring, but it’s already been a great weekend to bring in the ol’ 2-7.


To most people, 27 is an age with no significant meaning. It’s one of those in between 25 and 30 that just doesn’t matter. To me, it’s always lingered in the back of my mind as a measure of “progress”. My dad was married by the time he was 27. Compared to others in their generation, they were a bit late to tie the knot. I even had it in my head that I wanted to be married and have kids well before 27 (as if it was a competition). Let me quickly add before anyone starts to think I’m marriage crazy, that it’s not so much the being married part that I’m going for. It’s more about feeling passionately about something or someone. I know plenty of single people who are equally passionate about their job or schooling as those friends of mine who are married. Unfortunately I’m not one of those people who can dive into their work and be satisfied…so I look for the other thing.

For the past several years, I’ve told myself that I don’t want to go through the “ordinary” (middle class) progression of life; get married, have kids, buy a house in the suburbs, but that’s just because it hasn’t happened yet. Let’s cut through the crap of cynical Jim and just admit that I want all those things, but maybe not the house in the suburbs. I’ve been hanging out here in Colorado with a great couple with a great house and a beautiful little girl. How do you not crawl around and play with a smiling little girl? Sure, they poop and cry sometimes, but so does everyone. They are quickly proving to me that marriage and a kid doesn’t have to suck.

So there. I said it. My secret is out. I’m 27 and suddenly I’m a sap who wants a wife and kid. But in all seriousness, I’m just a guy who wants life to feel less stagnant. Hopefully this year will bring some of that direction I’m craving.