As soon as Christmas was over, he started talking about his birthday. We talked about where we would have the party, and he decided he'd like to do it at home and have his friends over. We talked about themes, and after contemplating and discarding several possibilities, Will settled on dinosaurs.

Once that was set, there were many other details he wanted to talk about. He wanted a pinata. He wanted a cake in the shape of a dinosaur, but he also wanted an ice cream cake, which presented a problem because ice cream cakes only come in rounds, rectangles and heart shapes. But, he reasoned, he could have pictures of dinosaurs put on an ice cream cake, and that would be OK.

My birthday is in May. I'll be 39.

I'm not so excited about it ... 39 is, after all real close to 40.

Sometimes I really envy my kid. I wish that I could attack life with the same verve and enthusiasm that he does. I want to get excited about things like birthdays.

I don't really mind aging, per se. The longer I live, the more comfortable I am in my own skin. I am much more willing to talk to anyone, and to be honest with people about what I think and how I'm feeling.

It's refreshing, really.

The thing I don't like is that it also seems like "growing up" means you have more and more worries, and those tend to be the things that take up all your time and energy.

I mean, who has time to be happy about the simple things like blooming flowers or hugs from friends when you have to be concerned with bills, cleaning your house and going to work?

Sure, responsibility is an important part of life and our commitments shouldn't just be taken for granted. It's just that sometimes, I think maybe we need to focus more on tempering life's have-to's with its want-to's.

As I hurtle toward 40, I think I'll make that one of my goals.