The 100 Years Club Installment #54: Pre-Gaming for My Birthday

Lots of exciting stuff happens in February.

1. The Super Bowl
2. Unique events in Scottsdale, like the WM Phoenix Open (golf and way too many drunk people), the Carvana Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour (because racquet sports are hot!), and the Arabian Horse Show (huh?)
3. Valentine’s Day. Watch for an article I’m publishing next month in Crunchy Tales about wild things you can do — solo or coupled up. I plan to attend this event called Cupid’s Carnival on February 14th. Even if I don’t find love, I may get a story or two from it.
4. The Chinese New Year (which is the Year of the Dragon)
5. A dinner at a place called PYRO that I’m hosting for SOS.
6. The anniversary of this blog (Two years ago, I launched “Route 66” here and on LinkedIn and now have 3K+ subscribers.
7. My birthday (and yes…that’s really me in the featured pic)

Every year is an auspicious year for me (although I’m a monkey and not a dragon according to the Chinese calendar). I try to celebrate the entire month.

I get lots of offers of free (or discounted) stuff from retailers and restaurants. Friends sometimes take me out for dinner or drinks. And I don’t have to worry about snow or ice disrupting my celebration, as it did when I was little or made plans to travel from the East Coast on my birthday.

Embracing the anniversary of one’s date of birth doesn’t need to be depressing or scary. Just focus on how much wiser we have become during those trips around the sun, the new people and old friends that have made our lives better during those decades, and what we still have left to do in the days, months, and years ahead.

I no longer eat cake or wear a corsage (and my younger brother and mother are both gone), but I plan to blow out at least one candle and celebrate the day!

(Out-of-town guests are welcome next month! The weather here is AMAZING!)

Some birthday “gift links” for you…

	Am I too early to plan my 70th?
	Why we need friends as we age
	Birthday cards can be ageist! Here’s a company changing the game.
	My 2024 “birthday travel” gifts to myself? (Because experiences are better than “stuff” at any age!) Speaking at this retreat in RI  Maybe doing this cool road trip Taking the fam to Disney World. (Thank you Stacey!) An exotic trip abroad (TBD)