I Gotta Say, It Was a Good Day.

Entering the final year of my forties

For the last two years, I have celebrated my birthday by throwing a Sunday afternoon get together in Prospect Park and just letting folks come and go as they please. That was the initial plan for my birthday this year.

Then I hit a patch of apathy plus emotional overwhelm and also had a think about hosting an event that people I only see once a year (at this event) show up to. First I cancelled the event outright, and then a week or so ago, I decided to un-cancel, but trim the guest list significantly and move the event to my apartment. Best possible move I could’ve made for a variety of reasons.

It was also the cherry on the top of what turned out to be a pretty good, and also fairly unremarkable day. I got up, worked out. Spoke to my dad for a few minutes (typing that still feels weird). Decided to forget I was diabetic for the day and had pancakes for breakfast (also, this is why I started the day by working out). I’d treated myself to a vinyl splurge the day before so I spent the afternoon listening to music. My buddy Joe came over and we hung out on the couch and talked for a couple of hours. I fielded a handful of calls and texts. My friend and neighbor Jeremy showed up at about 8:15 and a steady trickle of friends followed…a cross-section of loved ones that included co-workers, people I know from the poly scene, former Radio Free Brooklyn colleagues. Four people who’ve been on the pod. Folks that have been showing up at my monthly get togethers almost since I moved back to Brooklyn at the end of 2015, and a small handful of people who were showing up to a Mike Joseph event for the first time. We talked and laughed and drank and ate and my pal Will produced an ice cream cake he made himself and everyone sang happy birthday and then we drank and talked and laughed some more till the last folks left around 2 AM.

I’ve had bigger, louder, more meticulously planned birthday celebrations before, but this one felt really good to me. I had a solid mix of me time and social time, and the social time I enjoyed was with people I know well who are generally consistent presences in my life. I couldn’t have written the day up much better than it wrote itself.