4T2

Last week I turned forty-two years old. No biggie. Not a significant birthday. Just another flip of the calendar. It did hit me though, that I am now swimming in the section of the pool they call"middle age." The forties have been that way.

It's hard for me to believe. College graduation is easily reachable in my memories. The friends, the classes, the ivy-covered campus...all right there. It was my twenties and thirties that seem to have blinked by. Marriage, then a child, then another, then another, and the next thing I knew...I celebrated my fortieth birthday with a wife and eight kids. Today I'm wondering where all these teenagers have come from? I feel like I was just 18 myself. How can I have a son who is taking college classes?

I celebrated my birthday this year by working. A day at the office is rarely bad, considering I love the people I work with and the patients I treat. The office staff surprised me with a Margaritaville Concoction maker...five o'clock just got that much better at Fletcher Dentistry.

We also took off on a road trip to visit the Wolfe family for the weekend. They have remained good friends since college and I look for the opportunity to visit with them whenever I can. We can always depend on good food, good conversation, and great laughter (and adding a second generation has definitely helped the laughter department). This was no exception. A birthday dinner at The Red Tavern in Chico, a trip to watch the salmon run up the Feather river and a quick peek at Sierra Nevada brewery added to the adventure of this trip.

A Surprise Birthday Message From Christian!

Quietly making noise,
Fletch