Thanks to Facebook and other tools, most folks know that today is my birthday. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, I feel I get a double-dip of reflecting on the past year and my past year on this earth as the New Year and my birthday happen to land on the same day. I’ve been back and forth on this and while some years have been tough, others come quite easily. This, thanks in LARGE part to my wife, was an easy one.

I had told the wife that I wanted to have lunch at the Irish Pub as I enjoy an Irish Car bomb on my birthday. It’s rare that  I drink alcohol but this one treat has become quite the tradition. My wife got some of my friends to show up and it was a blast. I love my family, my church, even my job. But I find it a rare treat that I get to go and just hang out with a buddy. Today I got to hang out with 4! My brother Jake, who means more to me than I can ever express … and my brothers from other mothers … Jason, Matt, and Chris. These are my boys. I REALLY don’t get to hang out with them as much as I would like and if today was any indication I don’t know that my body can handle it if I gathered with all of them at one time too often. My gut is going to be sore tomorrow from all the laughing.

As I was getting into the car to leave I began to talk out loud about how those group of guys is like a great party. I love table-top RPG’s, don’t play them near enough. While the selection today runs the gamut I’m a sucker for the classic fantasy setting. Jason is the drunken dwarf, what’s awesome is that he is taking care of himself so no alcohol but he’s still just as crazy as any drunken dwarf wielding a mighty axe. Matt is easily the Bard, slaying the darkness and leading the masses with his song and prose. Jake, I struggled with, and while I don’t know that he typically plays a Priest, he cannot deny the healing ability of his counsel and let’s be honest … aside from Matt, he’s probably the most solid moral compass at that table. Finally, there’s Chris. A Fighter though I think he’d dual class as a Monk / Fighter. Calm and steady, quick to charge in and help whenever needed, but not easily rattled. And me? Well, who knows …

There are others out there of course that I count as a friend. I’ll tell you this, take care of your family first, but if the opportunity comes and your options are sitting at home watching TV, more work, or hang out with friends … pick the friends. I don’t mean Facebook friends, I mean brothers and sisters. Good friends that have your back. Friends that will pull you up out of the darkness and cheer for you while you’re on the mountaintop. You do the same for them!

I am now 40. As I stare out into the vast unknown ahead of me, I know I got my boys beside me and a good party makes any dungeon dive a blast!

Thanks for coming out guys, and thanks Nikki for setting this up. It was perfect. Happy New Year everyone.