Milestones, marking time

What does it mean to celebrate the mundane? As my birthday approaches, I reflect on the years, the dreams, the losses. We often think of milestones as “big” things —graduations, weddings, large crowds, and lots of ‘Likes’ on social media. Hollywood. But the truth is, most of life is spent in transitional moments, day to day.

Writing about a somewhat ordinary birthday seems silly. I feel a bit like Carey Bradshaw from the television hit Sex and the City when she throws herself a wedding shower as a single person, registry and all. She declares there is no ‘typical family structure,’ and…