Birthday Blog, a couple days late...

I had such a great birthday yesterday! If someone would have told me ten years ago that I would be celebrating my 28th birthday in the Philippines, I would have told them they were nuts. I had such a great day yesterday and I felt truly blessed to share it with Jenna and the awesome people that were around the PBCI offices. To start the day, Jenna and I went for an early morning workout at the gym. I stayed a bit later than Jenna did and swung by Jolibee for some coffee to take home. Jenna was already cooking buttermilk pancakes by the time I arrived, we definitely were off to a good start. Shortly after arriving in the offices, we headed across the street to order pizza for the office party. After pizza was over, we did as little work as possible then had coffee, Naniamo bars and carrot cake around three. We went for a late Japanese dinner around 8:30 where we had Sushi and the best tempura ever. For my presents, Jenna got me a pair of Crocs which are super sweet and a French press, which is something I’ve been looking forward to the entire time we’ve been here. Now we can finally have our own CFP coffee at home on the weekends.

Those of you that know me best know that I love numbers. For as longs as I can remember I’ve been much better with numbers that I have been with words. When I took algebra in school I think I got something like 160% in the class, which means not only did I get almost every question right all the time, I also got most of the extra credit questions right. Aside from doing simple math I also enjoy doing more complicated things involving numbers such as accounting work, financial forecasts and statistics. In fact, my favourite sport which is baseball has so many statistics that there are statics for the statistics. Not really, just saying there are statistics for everything. So as a tribute to the aging that my body is doing I thought it would be fun to break my life down into a few statistics for those who would be interested.

Here we go: I’ve been alive for 28 years now which means I’ve seen 336 months, 1,456 weeks, 10,220 days, 245,280 hours, 14,716,800 minutes and 883,008,000 seconds. My life expectancy is something like 80 years so that means that I have already lived 35% of my life. During that time I have spent roughly 9.24 years sleeping, I have blinked my eyes 176,592 times, my heart has beat 1,030,120 times, I have consumed roughly 8,584,80 Kgs of Oxygen and have taken something like 51,100,000 steps. As far as what else I have been doing in that time, the best I can come up with is to say that I’ve been playing baseball for as long as I can remember, I’ve been playing drums for nearly 18 years now, I’ve enjoyed fishing since I was nearly the same age I was when I started playing the drums and I also started getting into golf around the same time. I started driving when I was 16 and since that time I’ve averaged at least one speeding ticket per year. If you figure that the minimum ticket is $175 that means that I’ve paid at least $2,100 in traffic fines not to mention the expense of taking defensive driving at least four times by now. I’ve been to the emergency room more times than I care to admit. I’ve had two surgeries, one broken leg, two root canals and at least 6 concussions by my count. On a better note I can say that I’ve been in love with Jenna for exactly one day less than 6 years as of today.

So those are some of the statistics that I could think of that somewhat describe what my life has been like so far, but it’s not only the statistics of my life that make me who I am. The “Sum” of my life seems to be much greater than the parts I mentioned above. I once heard someone say that we are the sum of all the people we’ve met in our lives. If that is true than I think the sum of my life will greatly outweigh the statistics of my life. So again, only if you want to keep reading, please allow me to share with you what I think the sum of my life adds up to…

I think everyone knows that I lost my birth mother, Kathy, at the age of seven. The presence that her spirit has had on me is impossible to describe so I’ll just say that she is with me always and leave it at that. Since then I’ve been fortunate enough to have two other women in my life that I can call Mom. When Barb became my new mom she had no idea what she was getting herself into and despite the ups and downs that we’ve had over the years, the positive influence she has had on my life have been both invaluable and immeasurable and I thank her so much for the parts in me that she is responsible for . My newest mom Sue has brought a light to my heart that has helped me in more ways than I could ever hope to describe. The many hours spent sharing the intimate parts of my heart have continued to push me forward on the path to being a true man of God. Most people only get to call one person Mom, I’m lucky enough to say that title truly fits three amazing women. Thank you to my three Moms.

For a long time I would have said that the single closest person in my life was my Dad. I have countless memories that are just of me and my Dad. He was always around and spent Lord knows how many hours with me at various sporting events over the years. My Dad taught me how to do many of the things that I enjoy most today and it was with him that I began to discover what is probably the most enjoyable part of individual life for me, blues music. My Dad laid the foundation for what I understand being a man is all about. Although many of the lessons my Dad tried to teach me didn’t sink in until much later that he would have liked, his perseverance and continual guidance have given me the skills I need to make the most difficult decision I face now and will face in the future. My Dad prepared me to make my own life and house and was the person I looked up to the most as a teen. He remains one of my heroes to this day. Although time and distance have come between my Dad and me in the past few years, I know that we will always be bonded at the deepest level.

My siblings and I have a bond that is hard to put into words. For a number of years it was hard to tell where one of us stopped and the other one began. This was probably not the healthiest time in our relationships, but none the less we enjoyed the countless hours we spent together. My sister Holly has been a constant source of support and love from the day I was born. Her unconditional love and care have guided me through many difficult times and for that I will be forever indebted to her. The mere thought of my sister warms my heart. My brother Matt was who I always wanted to be when I was a little kid. As I got older I began to look at him more like a trusted friend and mentor than I ever would have thought when I was a kid. Matt and I have gone through many difficult times together, but we have always come out better for our struggles. Matt has taught me more about life and true happiness than I know today, and as we grow in our relationship together we always find ways to push each other closer to the men we both want to be. For his continued love and challenging support I am truly blessed. Mark and I have always been very close friends. We enjoy doing all kinds of things together. He has been a true companion to me on the journey that has been my life. On many of the best days of my life, Mark was present and on many of the brightest that are to come I know he will be there. Although we sometimes struggle in our relationships, I truly love Michael and Jen. They have both enriched my life and I will always do whatever I can to let them know I love them.

There are many other family members that have enhanced my life aside from my immediate family members. My nieces and nephews have blessed my life more than they could possibly know. Form the minute I first became an Uncle, I was completely in love with each of them and couldn’t be more proud of who they are. Each one of them has enriched my life in a unique way and watching them grow has been a privilege. The entire Nickel/Knickerbocker clan has embraced me as one of their own and getting to know each of them has been a true joy. The many golf rounds with Jesse and Dieter, countless meals with Liana, Birdie and Hiada, the extended family gatherings with the Nickels, or the Knickerbockers and vacations to Cultus, Pender and Sheridan have all made me feel so very blessed to be a part of those amazing families. I feel very lucky to have such a diverse family that stretches from the far west side of Canada all the way to Aunt Gayle and Uncle Bob’s summer cottage in Maine. As I have gotten older the value I have for family has increased and although not all of my relationships are as close, or as strong as I would like them to be, I truly love and appreciate all the members of my many families.

Jenna is the love of my life. I’m not sure that there is much more than that to say. The love she has given me is indescribable. Since the day I fell in love with her I have been truly blessed by her gentle spirit and kind heart. If it’s not to mushy to say, I’d say that above anything else I’ve done so far, loving Jenna is what I was made to do. I know it sounds presumptuous, but God made us for each other.

I couldn’t hope to name each friend by name that has had a major influence on my life. There have been so many amazing people over the years and each one of them has painted their stroke on the canvas that is my life. There are childhood friends, sports and music buddies from high school, college friends, buddies from work, fellow musicians in all kinds of bands (most notably Cornerstone) and friends that have been there through it all. I hope that I have done a good job at letting those closest to me know what they mean to me, but undoubtedly I’ve come short with nearly everyone at some time, or another. The grace and love that has been extended to me in the past 28 years is simply mind boggling. I hope that when I am asked to give an account of my life before God I will be able to say that the life I led reflected the hope and love of Christ that is in my heart.

So without sounding like an idiot, I’d assume that the sum of my life far exceeds the statistics of my life. My life has been awesome and I hope that I have had an awesome influence on someone. So long 27, hello 28!