Today is my halfth birthday!
Like all birthdays - but perhaps more than most - the halfth birthday has traditionally been seen as a propitious occassion. It's an opportunity to take stock, to look back at what has been achieved, as well as to consider - or day I say re-assess - one's aspirations and objectives for the future.
A milestone, if you like, on the road of life.
With this in mind I have spent the day in a contemplative mood. Absent-mindedly chewing the beak of my rubber duck, I began to daydream about what things might have been; and what they turned out to be.
- Does being half mean a new lease of life - or is it simply marking time, treading temporal water towards some as-yet indeterminate end-point?
- Half means a new set of challenges - and of responsibilities.
- Am I all I dreamed I'd be at the age of half?
Well, for all that thinking (not to mention the chewing), I didn't get very far in my search for answers. I suppose that, despite all the burden of anticipation, turning half does not guarantee an epiphany of insight into the human condition.
All I can say for sure is - with a mum and dad who adore me, a roof over my head and plenty of bananas to eat - back where I started isn't such a bad place to be.
Oh well - here's to the next half year!
This is a pcture of me with my friend Anna, taken at grandma Sherry's house in America.
