49 Candles and Counting: A Birthday Week Recap 🎉

Written by Shane Smith | Aug 14, 2024 11:00:00 AM

So last week was my birthday week, which is always cool and exciting. I'm turning 49 years old, which is hard for me to believe. I can't believe next year I turn 50. It seems like my forties went by super quick. During that time kids graduated, went to college, and Noah's now starting law school. So, time is just moving by, and I think about all the changes that have happened in the firm over the last decade, which is crazy. All the growth we've had, all the many clients we've helped and served. It's just wonderful how we've just continued to get better and better at our jobs.

On a personal note, it was a busy week. I took most of Thursday off for my birthday. I had lunch with my parents. We went to Ted's and then I had dinner with my in-laws, my boys, and Holly and we had chicken fajitas, which is one of my favorite meals. That was fun and even got some presents out of it. Most of my presents were firearms-related or some books I'd wanted that I'd read as a kid. Some Louis L'Amour books, a series called The Seconds. It's just what I'd call Dime Store Westerns. I read them when I was younger and wanted to go back and re-read them.

I feel like when you’re getting older you get a little nostalgic for some of the stuff of our youth. So that was my birthday, we just hung out with the kids that day. Also, the team decorated my office. I went by the office on Saturday morning to do some work, and lo and behold, I opened the door, and I've got streamers and balloons, and happy birthdays all over the place. I actually even had it in Charlotte when I went up there last week. So, I've had decorated offices at both our locations as well from the team. So that's all appreciated and good fun.

Noah had flown home on Thursday and then the next day, he and Holly rode back to High Point. He wanted to get there because next week he starts law school at High Point University Law. So just get settled, get ready to go, and be squared away. Now it does help that he went to High Point Undergrad, so he knows where everything's at and he doesn't have to do all the get used to college, get registered and parking and all that. He's already got it, but still, started his law school orientation on the following Monday. So, he wanted to get back and get settled, so he wouldn't rush, rush, rush.

Sam stayed with me over the weekend. We watched a little UFC on Saturday. It was a smaller fight card, or at least it felt like it to me. Although there were a couple of just banging fights in there. There were two different female fights. Both were great fights to watch. Honestly, they went in and fought great. It looked like they were both contenders for a fight of the night, to me. I just had a really good time, so if you're a UFC fan, overall, the fight card didn’t have a lot of names I knew. Now, the main event was pretty cool, and surprising, I didn't expect it, but it happened. It was quick. But other than the main event, those two fights and the early parts of the card were my favorites of the night. But we had a good time watching it and then just had a relaxing day.

I played a little bit of Helldivers the video game with Noah. Since he's up there we can remote in and play together. That was fun before school started, so I enjoyed all of that. And then really just putting up some of my birthday stuff, trying to get it situated. Anytime you get new things that we put together or assemble or something like that, that's just part of it, getting ready to go but we're doing that.

My ankle is still getting better. They prescribed me physical therapy, but it doesn't start for two weeks. I know how our clients feel when they get scheduled PT and they're like, "Yeah, I can't get in for two weeks." It always frustrates me as an attorney that gap and now I get to experience it as a patient who also gets frustrated with it as well. But my ankle is healing up well. I'd broken the toe earlier, that's all better.

They said the ankle ligaments are all coming together the way they're supposed to and hopefully that fracture heals as well as it could. I'm tired of my little scooter. I'm seeing a lot of places have a little bit of an incline and that small incline can really be a pain, either when you're going down it faster than you want, or when you're trying to push your way up it with one foot as well.

So, I'll be glad when I get the all clear off of that. It's certainly made working out a whole lot harder for me as we approach DragonCon. I hope everybody's doing well and as always if you are in pain, call Shane!

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