On September 10th, 1959 I was born. I frankly do not remember much of the day, which leads me to believe the stories of a quick and easy birth. On this day of celebration, as another year soars past me, I am moved to think about this year in my life.

I'm not going to go into all the details of it. Suffice it to say that I have had my ups and downs. I have made some choices that I am not happy about and of course I've made some perfect choices as well. I had to step away from doing Faire, which I miss terribly, but I think it was a necessary. I did continue with my schooling and have come very close to my graduation - I have only two more classes to take to get my BA in Psychology. I have been working on a regular basis as a temporary contract worker within the School District as a Special Education Paraprofessional, and with Youth Homes as a Residential Youth Counselor. I even tried tutoring this last year; it was fun, but I'm not sure if I will continue that right now. I have finally been asked to become a full-time 40hr./wk Counselor/Behavior Specialist with a decent salary; what a wonderful birthday present that is for me.

Birthdays are known for gift giving, and if I'm lucky I'll get a fantastic new tie from the girls :) If not, no big deal... they give their love to me every day, and for that I am grateful enough. But I did not invite you here to beg for gifts or to shame you into remembering my birthday... no you are here only because I love you. And for once I want to give YOU a gift. If I had the money to buy you all a car I might (but I'm not Oprah) You certainly can download a free copy of my book from HERE ... I can not give you a gift of anything more than that ... Even though I wish I could.

I'm here today to share the date of my birth with you. I'm here to share with you; to give a gift to you of the love that I hold in my heart for each and everyone of you. You have been invited here because in some way, you have touched my life and I am so very grateful for you! There are not words enough to express to you what you mean to me. I know that I would not be the man I am today, without you.

Over this last year, I want to especially thank my girls. We've gone through so much together you and I, and I have always felt your love. I am always reminded what unconditional love is when I think of you girls. To Diane I am grateful that you have been understanding and in so have taught me understanding. To mom and dad, I want to thank you for your love and generosity. You have taught me the true meaning of giving. To my family - my brothers and sisters, thank you for your willingness to be there for me. I know in my stubbornness I have not always walked through your open door, but I always knew it was open, and I am grateful for that feeling of security you always gave me. There are many that I would love to thank personally here, but actually the list is pretty long and I'm not sure I'd have the band-width.

So today, instead of you giving me a gift I'm here to give you a gift. A gift of thanks, because I reached the age of 52 so grateful to be alive and looking for more! I've lived a good life, and I've learned alot along the way. I recently found a wonderful short video that reflected everything that I wish for you. I want to share this video with you, and I hope you enjoy it, and feel the need to pass it on to someone else. Please click here to see your gift. (Also you might not want to miss the old photo's below :))

With all my love and the brightest of blessings ~ Richard