Best Birthday Ever

There are six happy balloons still cheerily floating in my living room, tied to the banister. Tomorrow, they'll begin to sink, and then I'll throw them away, but for now the party is a fresh memory. These are the images that will stick in my mind...friends trickling in through the front door with beer and food and presents. Toddlers underfoot for the first hour. Raising my beer in a toast to my sister's marathon race last weekend, encircled by our friends and family. Wandering in between conversations. My brother and Stan and Mark playing guitars in the living room. I'm another year older, and maybe a little bit wiser.