Still in my forties (for now...)

 Happy birthday to, well, me. I am 49 today. I am not getting any younger, but I am okay. Like I said to my wife last week, at least I'm still in my forties, for now at least. But yes, it goes way too fast. And at least I know my son and my wife have prepared something special for me. They always have something exciting prepared for me, a few really cool presents, something to make me forget that I am only one year away from being fifty and that times flies really quickly. It gets faster as you get older. Thankfully, I'm a father. It also makes it more bearable, because in the end, every celebration we do in this family revolves pretty much around Wolfie.

Marquise, si mon visage, etc, etc.

Bon ben, c'est ma fête aujourd'hui, j'ai 49 ans (aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!). Tradition sur le blogue, je partage les Stances à Marquise, version chantée par Georges Brassens. Mes traits un peu vieux se font de plus en plus nombreux et de plus en plus tout court. "Un peu" commence à être franchement un euphémisme. Dans trois ans, j'aurai le même âge que Pierre Corneille quand il a écrit le poème. Il me reste encore du temps, mais il file.

48 today

 Well, as the title says, it is my birthday today. I am 48. It seems that my forties are going so quickly. Each birthday feels like coming faster than the previous one. Only two years, and I am in another decade. On the plus side, I am a father, I will have a nice birthday with my close family, especially Wolfie, who always make it fun. Getting older has its perks, as long as you don't celebrate alone.

"Marquise, si mon visage," etc.

Bon ben j'ai 48 ans aujourd'hui. Tradition oblige:

The Dover Demon and Me

The things one learns thanks to the internet and to social media. I am a member of a few horror pages on Facebook, and I discovered on one of them the Dover Demon. From Dover, Massachusetts, not the English Dover. The Dover Demon is a creature that looks like a Grey Alien who was sighted on the 21st of April 1977. Okay, so far, so nothing special. I'm skeptical about the existence of aliens or weird creatures and I think there is most likely a natural explanation about it. But what I found kind of funny is that the Dover Demon was seen on the exact date when I was born. Well, that's all, really, I just thought it was a funny coincidence. It also has quite a cool name.

47 (Argh!)

Today is my birthday. I'm 47. Argh! I am kind of freaking out, because my fourties aregoing through far too quickly for my taste: I remember turning 40 like it was yesterday. And Wolfie was not even one yet, it was a hot, almost summery day and, well, it still felt somewhat young. Now I am only three years away from 50. That feels kind of unfair. Tempus Fugit, and all that. Now, today will feel different for another reason: Wolfie's friend has his birthday party today. It's not his birthday, but they are celebrating it today. So it means I am sort of sharing it with one my son's friends. It does not really matter: when you are a father, it is all about your child(ren) anyway. And since it is not one of the birthdays ending in 0, I am happy to celebrate a bit less this year. And I know my wife and kid have a few surprises up their sleeves today. In any case, the best birthday celebrations I had were often the smallest ones.

"J'ai 47 ans, mon vieux Corneille..."

Bon ben... J'ai 47 ans aujourd'hui. Je suis déjà un peu plus,à chaque année, comme le vieux Corneille. Et par conséquent je partage, ainsi qu'à chaque année, ses  Stances à Marquise, chantées par Georges Brassens. Je ne peux emmerder personne en attendant. Ce serait un brin hypocrite, à mon âge.

46

Today is my birthday, I am 46 today. Not sure if I should be happy about it or drown my sorrow: I am over the first half of my fourties, so I have less years to spend in that decade than years spent. Time goes way too fast, especially for someone like me who is nostalgic. Thankfully, I am blessed with a family, a wife who I know is going to spoil me (she always does)  and a little boy who turns every one of daddy's birthday into a true celebration. Wolfie makes me forget that I am getting on in years. In fact, with him, I don't mind getting old, as long as he does not grow up too quickly.

"Marquise si mon visage..."

J'ai 46 ans aujourd'hui. Par conséquent: le vieux Corneille, les Stances à Marquise, Georges Brassens et tout le reste.

Tomasz Kot and me

I recently discovered one thing about Polish actor Tomasz Kot. I know very little about the man, in fact I have never seen (as far as I know) any movie or TV series with him in the cast. I learned of his existence when he was rumoured to be considered for the villain in the last Bond movie, which of course did not happen. But hey, him and me have one thing in common: we were born on the exact same date. Same day, same year. So we have the exact same age. And I just find this kind of a funny coincidence, if completely trivial.

45

I'm 45 today. Half my way through my forties. Time runs so fast. Okay, so enough of clichés, commonplaces and banalities, but it does feel like time is slipping through my fingers. Thankfully, I have a little boy who makes everything worth it, even getting old(er). As an adult, I enjoyed my birthday less and less, until he came into my life. Now, he is an enthusiastic party organiser and party guest, getting excited about everything regarding today's celebrations. Most of the presents I will receive I am sure, are going to be enjoyed by the two of us equally, and it is all right like this. I said it often before and I will say it again here: being the father of a boy gives you a second childhood. And I am grateful for it.

"Marquise si mon visage..."

J'ai 45 ans aujourd'hui, donc... J'ai les traits un peu (plus) vieux. Comme le vieux Corneille le disait dans les Stances à Marquise, chantées ici par Georges Brassens. Une tradition sur ce blogue.

A dad's birthday

Today is my birthday and I think it's going to be a special one. Not because of my age, I mean I am 44, which is still in the good side of this decade (if there is a good side to the forties). But because Wolfie, who is eleven times younger, is very aware of it now, and very excited about it. Moreso than me, in a way. He got very commited to choose and wrap up my presents with his mummy. Apparently, he even had a brilliant idea for one of them. And he worked very hard to keep everything a surprise. Yesterday he told me, very seriously: "Daddy, daddy, there's a secret present for you tomorrow, but I can't tell you what!" It is a new Wolfism and a very cute one. I think the day will be very long forhim until he can unwrap, errr... I mean, help me unwrap my presents.

Georges Brassens, "Marquise"

Bon, j'ai 44 ans aujourd'hui, encore techniquement dans la "jeune" quarantaine, je dois quand même avouer: j'ai quelques traits un peu vieux. Et comme c'est une tradition sur Vraie Fiction (même si j'ai négligé de l'observer les deux dernières années), voici les Stances à Marquise, version chantée par Georges Brassens. Avec bien entendu la fin ironique rajoutée par Brassens. Il y a de meilleurs enregistrement sur YouTube, mais cette vidéo a son sourire, qui vaut le visionnement...

An Italian birthday memory

Today is my birthday, and as I often on that day, I try to share on this blog a birthday memory. Because I'm a shameless nostalgic. Today, it is not a childhood memory that comes to my mind, but one from my early twenties. When I first came in this country to study, I spent a lot of time with Italians, who made for the majority of my group of friends. I celebrated only one birthday with them, but since that day, I know the meaning of "buon compleanno" and "auguri". Thanks to social media, I keep in touch with them and they keep on wishing me well in these words, which reminds me of that time.

Fêter durant la quarantaine

C'est ma fête aujourd'hui, j'ai 43 ans. Ouch, ça ne rajeunit personne, d'une part. Et je la fête en pleine quarantaine, dans les deux sens du mot: on est encore en confinement, bien entendu, et parce que j'ai encore la quarantaine cette année et pour les prochaines. Comme je l'ai dit ici, je trouve que la quarantaine passe vite, merci. Mais pour l'autre, de quarantaine, bien comme de raison elle nous forcera à se modérer dans nos transports: pas de repas au restaurant, pas de poisson exotique, pas de grande marche digestive après le repas et avant le gâteau. N'empêche, je ne suis pas très porté sur les grandes célébrations depuis l'âge adulte, alors ça ne me dérangera pas trop. Je m'accomode des deux quarantaines assez bien jusqu'ici.

My birthday on Easter

Tomorrow as you know is Easter. It is also my birthday. This will be the first time in my lifetime when Easter will fall on my birthday. I might be wrong, but from memory it will be the first time. That said, that Easter comes around the time of my birthday is nothing new. In fact, I remember that my parents often celebrated my birthday on Easter Sunday. As a child, I confused both days, sometimes thinking that I was born on Easter. So I have a few memories of mixing both days into one celebration: Easter related birthday presents, religiously themed birthday presents (I was once a devout Catholic child), birthday cakes that have the shape of giant eggs or rabbits, etc. I will try to blog about some of these memories in the future. What strikes me is that I don't remember feeling short changed: I enjoyed this kind of birthday, it made me feel special.

Pâque et moi

Petit billet pascal, car c'est pour bientôt. Cette année, Pâques arrive à un bien étrange moment: le jour de ma fête. Enfin, je devrais dire que le jour de ma fête tombe sur celui de Pâques. Je ne sais pas si c'est une bonne ou une mauvaise chose. Enfant, j'aimais bien que ça tombe en même temps, j'ai même cru un temps que la fête de Pâques me célébrait moi. N'empêche, ça cause un problème ou deux, notamment sur comment fêter l'une et l'autre (mettons que la sortie au restaurant, on met ça de côté). Nous avons des traditions et des rituels pour les deux, qui forcément seront mélangées. J'en ferai sans doute une question existentielle. Pour le moment, je vais conclure ce billet en disant que je comprends ceux qui ont leur anniversaire de naissance durant les Fêtes (surtout à Noël).

On being 41

I am 41 today. The big 4-0 last year did not bother me as much as I thought it would. Turning 30 was worse. It felt worse anyway, when it happened. I don't know how I will celebrate, but like last year it will be fairly quiet. When you reach adulthood and middle age, birthdays tend to be less important. especially when you have children: they just take the stage, so to speak. Even my birthday is in a way all about Wolfie now.

Marquise si mon visage...

J'ai 41 ans aujourd'hui. Comme c'est une tradition sur Vraie Fiction, voici les Stances à Marquise, version chantée par Georges Brassens, avec les couplets de son cru vers la fin. Parce que j'ai quelques traits un peu vieux, je suis un grison puisque j'ai les tempes grisonnantes... mais je me console: je suis papa, c'est toujours ça ce pris.