­¡Happy Birthday!
      ­Haha, okay, I don’t need the upside down exclamation point when typing in English, but I sort of like it. Alt+173 = ¡ (just in case you wondered how to type it on a PC).
      ­So, tomorrow is May 12th. At 8:43 in the morning, I shall celebrate the 34th anniversary of my own birth. Hooray. *sigh*
      ­Thirty-four.
      ­I really thought I’d be… different. More, by the time I hit my mid-thirties. Mid. Thirties. Holy crap… that’s weird to think about. I am pretty sure I’m still about twenty-three in my brain. Which is impossible since I’ve been with Mark ten years (a DECADE?!) this year. I am definitely old(er), but I don’t feel it. I feel… at once young and ancient.
      ­But this year has been mostly good. Oh sure, we stress about money constantly, but there seems to be hope on the horizon. And we still live in a rented place, not an owned one, but there’s hope for that as well. We have Venna and we have a solid, lovely life together. We hang out and enjoy our time together. And our health, while not perfect, is on the mend.
      ­Life is good.
      ­And yeah, I never thought I’d live to see this age. I’ve always been sure I would die young and horribly. But for now, I’m still here and I am choosing Joy.
      ­It is something my sister posted on Facebook recently and it really made me stop and thinking. She’s good for that, my wickedly clever little sister.
      ­Choose Joy.
      ­Choose Life.
      ­Choose Happiness.
      ­A day doesn’t have to be grey, you can choose to smile. A problem doesn’t have to be insurmountable, you can choose to keep climbing. A chocolate Cadbury Mini-Egg doesn’t have to be eaten, you can choose health.
      ­So that’s my goal for my 34th year.
      ­Choosing Joy. Choosing the things that make me a happier, healthier, better person.
      ­Which yes, means also choosing NOT to do things too.
      ­But in the end, I know choosing joy will make #34 the best year ever. I will ride the rides at Hershey Park with my husband, finally (FINALLY) not too fat and too scared. I will complete another novel. I will learn to enjoy sweating. I will eat more vegetables than vegetarians and I will radiate health.
      ­I will CHOOSE JOY!
      ­And maybe, if all this comes together (no, WHEN this all comes together), Mark and I will be blessed with a little girl or boy. If so, I’ll be hard pressed not to choose Joy once more, and give it to them as a middle name.
      ­Happy Birthday, Josie. You can do it!

Note: Image is “Fireworks over Columbus River 1” by (edgar0587) from SXC.hu