Sixtieth Birthday in Paris

My, My,  Melissa

Melissa and Karen - who needs flowers on the table??

Chateauneuf de Pape!!  From JB and Brian

Blowing out 60 Candles!!!

In the eyes of many institutions and establishments, I am now officially a senior. Well, I was a senor in Mexico for a while back there, but this is different. I missed my brother Geoff's wedding this summer, the birth of the beautiful Cadence last summer, and now here was this other major event spent far from home. The consolation was that we had My My Melissa with us, and as a bonus, my beautiful and talented niece Karen Judge (Peter and Nancy's daughter) was able to meet up with us for dinner as she is doing an internship in Paris!

We had reservations at Marguerite Restaurant, ranked # 38 of over 8000 restaurants in all of Paris, and we were not disappointed. When we arrived, we found that our good friends Brian and JB had been so kind and considerate as to actually phone the restaurant and order, not only Champagne for our arrival, but a Chateauneuf de Pape for the dinner! Our waiter was truly impressed, not only by JB's command of French, but obviously, the good taste in wine that was evident.

We had a fabulous meal, and many a good laugh as we regaled each other with anecdotes over dinner.

When asked what thoughts I had about turning 60, I strove to convey the melange of feelings I was experiencing. On one hand, there was the obvious portent of one's mortality, the sense that your life had become very finite and measurable. As someone once remarked, “We all know that we are going to die, but few of us believe it.” On the other hand, I am truly at peace, having already known more happiness and good fortune than anyone can possibly expect. It is true that I have not written a number one hit song (or maybe I have and I just haven't released it yet???), but the list of things I can be grateful for is long:

My wife, my children, my friends, my good health, my good fortune, my modicum of talent that frustrates me but gives me a reason to keep trying, all combine to fill me with a sense of calm that I can look forward to however many years I have left with gratitude for what has gone before.