Had a lovely few days with Stan and the journey back was easy too so that was a result.

Now, every year I have a birtday, I understand most people do the same thing so this is probably not so unusual. What I also do each year is the pre birthday assumptions.

This year I am assuming I shall get gifts from 3 people. From those three, one I shall near as dammit pay for myself.

I shall get 3 phone calls to wish me a happy birthday, possibly only 2. The kids will do so eventually which will be a quick ‘happy birthday dad’ and then the day will carry on like any other.

My birthday being a Sunday I know I already have any postal gifts I am going to get. I guess that’d mean probably all the cards too, that’ll be 4 then.

I may at some future date get a delayed gift but that is by no means certain, I suspect I shall also not get a gift that was promised me but I was expecting that.

On the plus side, the weather will be nice, I may well get some gardening done as it currently resembles something very wild indeed.

I learn a few things each birthday, no ‘learn’ is the wrong word. It is more accurate to say that I am reminded that unless they are reminded, most of my nearest and dearest forget my birthday assuming they don’t need to remember because having a family that side of things is already covered. Well, it isn’t but that’s fine. Something else I know about birthdays is how they seem to be days of extremes. They can be either really happy ott events or total non events and depressing as hell!

As I say over and over, there is always next year (I hope).