When you're 60 "something"...you can do birthdays differently.

Event # 2: On the "mountain" and Tzouhalem's arbutus trees.

Today was one of those important family days - Joan's birthday. I usually plan something special for occasions such as this. As some will remember, on our last anniversary, I treated Joan to some romantic dining at a marvellous spot on the shores of neighbouring Salt Spring Island. The fact that we had to paddle our kayaks to get there and that the only item on my carefully planned "menu" was home made pea soup, appeared to be somewhat amusing to some readers. Seriously folks, I thought the whole thing was a pretty classy idea.

Anyway, once again, I thought long and hard about what might be fun for today's birthday celebration. So what to do? Well, I have this theory that when you're over 60, one of the best ways to celebrate a birthday is to do something that provides indisputable evidence that you're still as "alive" as you were the previous year. I therefore suggested to Joan that we should engage in a "birthday triathlon" to mark this special day.

Here's the idea: we would complete three self-propelled events, as quickly as possible - there were, after all, some work-related tasks to address today as well. Successful completion of all events would then determine that the additional year (since the last birthday) had not resulted in any significant physical deterioration - although some will probably feel that there are other "issues" to address. Haha! Joan, always a good sport about these things, felt that this would be a suitable way to celebrate her birthday. (Of course, the price would be right too. No expensive restaurant meals to take the fun out of a good birthday event!)

We agreed that the three self-propelled events would include the following: a 60 minute early morning workout at the gym; followed by a 5.5 kilometre trail "run" (with walking breaks - it's steep!) on nearby Mt. Tzouhalem; and finally, a 12 kilometre sea kayak circuit from Maple Bay to Salt Spring Island and back via Erskine and Grave Points. We would then be able to address a couple of parish commitments before the "birthday supper" - the logistics of which, to be honest, I hadn't thought much about.

Event # 3: "This is the last event, isn't it?"

To make a long story short - all three self-propelled events and the work-related tasks were accomplished. As for enjoying a special birthday supper? Well, not so much. We were both way too tired for anything more than some, yep, you guessed it - home made pea soup. It'll be an early night.

But it was fun. :)

Duncan.