Birds of HER neighborhood might do well to keep their distance, if I’m any judge of character.

So. It’s my birthday today. I’m not one to let another year going by get me down, but nonetheless, rather than celebrate with a party song, I’m feeling a bit more reflective today. Maybe it’s the recent loss of our cat, 16+ years after getting him as a kitten, when really it feels like just a few, but it truly is amazing how fast the years go by. One day you’ve got a baby son in your arms, the next he’s heading to middle school. And so it goes.

Despite that line of thinking, I’m actually not feeling particularly melancholy about my birthday today…really. I’m enjoying a nice, relaxing day, as it turns out. But it does bring to mind the song, “Where Does the Time Go?” by the Innocence Mission, from their 1999 album, Birds of My Neighborhood. It is one of the most beautiful songs I know, a song that wouldn’t be out of place on Joni Mitchell’s debut album, Song to a Seagull. No matter how upbeat my mood, this song can always dampen it. But no, that sounds wrong — what I mean is that the song never fails to put me in a frame of mind to be a bit wistful for days gone by, but also to appreciate what I’ve got now and look forward to good times ahead, to enjoying them while I can. And I guess when you think about it, that’s what birthdays are there for, aren’t they? That, and simply to celebrate still being around to feel however the day makes you feel…