It started much like any other day of any other month of any other year.  The sun rose, people shuffled off to work, and cars waited in line at the local Dunkin Donuts.  To me this day is relatively unimportant other than the fact that it gives meaning to the space allocated for it on the calender.  To others though, mainly my mother and father, May 29th marks a very important moment in history.  It is the day that their first child was introduced to the world.

Thirty-three years later parents and child are together again but this time they are joined by others in the room.  The child has grown into a man and now has children of his own.  Wife, family and friends gather, much to the man of honor’s dismay, to mark the occasion of his birth.  For them it’s May 29th a day to celebrate, for me, it’s simply Tuesday.

I’m what many consider to be a simple person.  I do my work to the best of my abilities, I pay my bills to the best of my abilities, and along with my loving wife, I raise my children… to the best of my abilities.  I don’t ask for much but I give all that I can.  I’m an introvert at heart and generally detest gatherings of any size.  My wife jokes that I can sit alone in a room with a pencil and a paper clip and amuse myself for hours on end and frankly I’m inclined to agree.

The night proceeds as just about any birthday celebration would with laughter, conversation, cake, and finally presents.  There is the standard sweatshirt or two, movie theater gift certificates, a Home Depot gift card, and tickets to a community theater show.  Finally, my wife hands me a box labeled “JC Penny”.  I know the gift isn’t from there though, it’s simply one of the boxes we have stored in our basement gathered from birthdays and Christmas’s past. 

I give the box the obligatory shake.  I couldn’t have hidden the quizzical look on my face if someone paid me to.  There was no shuffling of clothes, the sliding of a book, or any other rattle that would to some hint as to what was contained within.  Instead there was a dull thump as the item, or items, came into contact with the sides of the box.  The weight was heaver than I expected but not overly so.  Smiling to my wife I even made a show of smelling the box, much to the amusement of all.